Resonant X-ray diffraction studies on the charge ordering in magnetite

TL;DR

This study uses resonant x-ray diffraction and ab initio calculations to demonstrate fractional charge ordering in the low-temperature phase of magnetite, confirming the technique's effectiveness in probing complex oxide electronic structures.

Contribution

It provides the first quantitative analysis of charge ordering in magnetite using RXD combined with ab initio calculations, advancing understanding of electronic structures in complex oxides.

Findings

Fractional charge ordering observed in magnetite at low temperatures

Resonant x-ray diffraction effectively probes electronic structure in complex oxides

Quantitative atomic charge evaluation achieved through combined experimental and computational methods

Abstract

Here we show that the low temperature phase of magnetite is associated with an effective, although fractional, ordering of the charge. Evidence and a quantitative evaluation of the atomic charges are achieved by using resonant x-ray diffraction (RXD) experiments whose results are further analyzed with the help of ab initio calculations of the scattering factors involved. By confirming the results obtained from X-ray crystallography we have shown that RXD is able to probe quantitatively the electronic structure in very complex oxides, whose importance covers a wide domain of applications.