Orbital Degeneracy Removed by Charge Order in Triangular AntiferromagnetAgNiO2

Abstract

We report a high-resolution neutron diffraction study on the orbitally degenerate spin-$1/2$ hexagonal metallic antiferromagnet ${\mathrm{AgNiO}}_2$. A structural transition to a tripled unit cell with expanded and contracted ${\mathrm{NiO}}_6$ octahedra indicates $\sqrt{3}\times \sqrt{3}$ charge order on the Ni triangular lattice. This suggests charge order as a possible mechanism of lifting the orbital degeneracy in the presence of charge fluctuations, as an alternative to the more usual Jahn-Teller distortions. A novel magnetic ground state is observed at low temperatures with the electron-rich $S=1$ Ni sites arranged in alternating ferromagnetic rows on a triangular lattice, surrounded by a honeycomb network of nonmagnetic and metallic Ni ions. We also report first-principles band-structure calculations that explain microscopically the origin of these phenomena.