Spin-orbit coupling induced Van Hove singularity in proximity to a Lifshitz transition in Sr4Ru3O10

• Published in: npj quantum materials Vol. 9; no. 1; pp. 35 - 9
• Main Authors: Marques, Carolina A., Murgatroyd, Philip A. E., Fittipaldi, Rosalba, Osmolska, Weronika, Edwards, Brendan, Benedičič, Izidor, Siemann, Gesa-R., Rhodes, Luke C., Buchberger, Sebastian, Naritsuka, Masahiro, Abarca-Morales, Edgar, Halliday, Daniel, Polley, Craig, Leandersson, Mats, Horio, Masafumi, Chang, Johan, Arumugam, Raja, Lettieri, Mariateresa, Granata, Veronica, Vecchione, Antonio, King, Phil D. C., Wahl, Peter
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group 08.04.2024; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: Condensed Matter Physics; Crystal structure; Den kondenserade materiens fysik; Electronic structure; Electrons; Elementary excitations; Ferromagnetism; Fysik; Magnetic fields; Microscopy; Natural Sciences; Naturvetenskap; Photoelectric emission; Physical Sciences; Physics; Point defects; Scanning tunneling microscopy; Singularities; Spectrum analysis; Spin-orbit interactions; Strontium ruthenium oxide; Superconductivity; Symmetry
• ISSN: 2397-4648; 2397-4648
• DOI: 10.1038/s41535-024-00645-3

Abstract Van Hove singularities (VHss) in the vicinity of the Fermi energy often play a dramatic role in the physics of strongly correlated electron materials. The divergence of the density of states generated by VHss can trigger the emergence of phases such as superconductivity, ferromagnetism, metamagnetism, and density wave orders. A detailed understanding of the electronic structure of these VHss is therefore essential for an accurate description of such instabilities. Here, we study the low-energy electronic structure of the trilayer strontium ruthenate Sr 4 Ru 3 O 10 , identifying a rich hierarchy of VHss using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and millikelvin scanning tunneling microscopy. Comparison of k -resolved electron spectroscopy and quasiparticle interference allows us to determine the structure of the VHss and demonstrate the crucial role of spin-orbit coupling in shaping them. We use this to develop a minimal model from which we identify a mechanism for driving a field-induced Lifshitz transition in ferromagnetic metals.