title: Low-energy V t2g orbital excitations in NdVO3.
abstract: The electronic structure of NdVO(3) and YVO(3) has been investigated as a function of sample temperature using resonant inelastic soft x-ray scattering at the V L(3)-edge. Most of the observed spectral features are in good agreement with an atomic crystal-field multiplet model. However, a low energy feature is observed at ∼ 0.4 eV that cannot be explained by crystal-field arguments. The resonant behaviour of this feature establishes it as due to excitations of the V t(2g) states. Moreover, this feature exhibits a strong sample temperature dependence, reaching maximum intensity in the orbitally-ordered phase of NdVO(3), before becoming suppressed at low temperatures. This behaviour indicates that the origin of this feature is a collective orbital excitation, i.e. the bi-orbiton.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Laverock
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: A R H
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Preston
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Newby
authors.forename: L F J
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Piper
authors.forename: L D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Tung
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Balakrishnan
authors.forename: P-A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Glans
authors.forename: J-H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: K E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Smith