Get started
Work

Layer Architecture Shapes Electronic, Magnetic, and Lattice Interactions in Ruddlesden-Popper Nickelates

Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: The discovery of superconductivity in Ruddlesden-Popper nickelates has raised a central question: how does layer architecture shape the electronic, magnetic, and lattice interactions relevant to pairing? Here, we report a detailed comparative study of the two polymorphs of La3Ni2O7--the alternating monolayer-trilayer (LNO-1313) and bilayer (LNO-2222) structures--and the related trilayer compound La4Ni3O10, using both Ni L3- and O K-edge RIXS. We find that LNO-1313 and La4Ni3O10 share strikingly similar electronic, magnetic, and lattice excitations, whereas bilayer LNO-2222 exhibits distinct features. Compared to LNO-2222, LNO-1313 and La4Ni3O10 have weaker orbital polarization, enhanced 3d8L character, a reduced out-of-plane magnetic-exchange scale, and stronger EPC. Within an effective local-moment framework, an entangled-dimer scenario provides a natural description of the spin excitations generated by strong antiferromagnetic interlayer coupling. Its advantage over conventional spin-wave theory is clearest in bilayer LNO-2222, where the interlayer coupling dominates the intralayer interactions. These findings provide critical experimental constraints for future theoretical models for the low-energy physics relevant to superconductivity in these layered nickelates.
DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2609.04532
Authors: He, W., Guo, X., Luo, X., Thomas, J., Sears, J., TenHuisen, Sophia F. R., Guan, Ziqiang, Chen, Xinglong, Dahlbom, D. A., Zager, B., Pelliciari, J., Zhao, Yi-Feng, LaBollita, H., Zheng, Hong, Lajer, M. K., Mitchell, J. F., Bisogni, V., Botana, A. S., Mitrano, M., Johnston, S., Dean, M. P. M.
Institutions: Brookhaven National Laboratory, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Harvard University, Argonne National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, National Synchrotron Light Source II, Arizona State University, Flatiron Institute
Language: English
Open Access status: green
Funders: U.S. Department of Energy, Flatiron Health, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Argonne National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory
Awards: G1229526393, G1285306620, G1286251239, G1313983767, G171842289, G1847291448, G2371548206, G241279073, G303061748, G3262563802, G357145406, G4142665868, G495301720, G498139845, G5570207115, G5765906131, G618388848, G6550344761, G6965541988, G7013157416, G7283024673, G7463374569, G8382000481, G911061179
OpenAlex ID: W7211910926
Cites: 11
Cited by: 1
Related to: 10