Signatures of Stripe Phases in Hole Doped $La_2NiO_4$

TL;DR

This study investigates stripe phases in doped La$_{2}$NiO$_{4}$, revealing how electron-lattice interactions determine whether Ni-centered or O-centered charge stripes form, with distinct experimental signatures.

Contribution

It demonstrates the critical role of electron-lattice coupling in dictating stripe phase types and predicts observable signatures distinguishing them in nickelate materials.

Findings

Transition from O-centered to Ni-centered stripes with increasing e-l interaction

Distinct low- and high-energy signatures for each stripe type

Electron-lattice interaction critically influences stripe phase formation

Abstract

We study nickelate-centered and oxygen-centered stripe phases in doped La$_{2}$NiO$_{4}$ materials. We use an inhomogeneous Hartree-Fock and random-phase approximation approach including both electron-electron and electron-lattice(e-l) coupling for a layer of La$_{2}$NiO$_{4}$. We find that whether the ground state after commensurate hole doping comprises Ni-centered or O-centered charge-localized stripes depends sensitively on the e-l interaction. With increasing e-l interaction strength, a continuous transition from an O-centered stripe phase to a Ni-centered one is found. Various low- and high-energy signatures of these two kinds of stripe phases are predicted, which can clearly distinguish them. These signatures reflect the strongly correlated spin-charge-lattice features in the vicinity of Ni-centered or O-centered stripe domains. The importance of e-l interaction for recent experiments on stripe phases is discussed.