Abstract
We carried out temperature-dependent (20-550 K) measurements of resonant inelastic x-ray scattering on LaCoO3 to investigate the evolution of its electronic structure across the spin-state crossover. In combination with charge-transfer multiplet calculations, we accurately quantified the renomalized crystal-field excitation energies and spin-state populations. We show that the screening of the effective on-site Coulomb interaction of 3d electrons is orbital selective and coupled to the spin-state crossover in LaCoO3. The results establish that the gradual spin-state crossover is associated with a relative change of Coulomb energy versus bandwidth, leading to a Mott-type insulator-to-metal transition.
| Original language | English |
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| Article number | 196402 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Physical Review Letters |
| Volume | 119 |
| Issue number | 19 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 7 Nov 2017 |