Emergent magnetism at the 3d-5d interface: SrMnO₃/SrIrO₃

Recent experiments have found new magnetic behaviors, which are different from the parent bulk materials, at the interfaces between 3d and 5d oxides such as SrMnO₃ (SMO) and SrIrO₃ (SIO). The system is of considerable interest due to the strong spin-orbit coupling in the 5d materials on one hand and the double exchange physics in SMO on the other, which belongs to the class of the colossal magnetoresistive (CMR) manganites. In order to gain insight into the physics of the system, we have performed density-functional studies on a selected interface structure, viz., the (SMO)₁(SIO)₁ superlattice, which has been experimentally grown and studied. Our density-functional results show that the interfacial magnetism is controlled by a net charge transfer at the interface from the SIO to the SMO side, turning both of them into ferromagnetic metal from the original antiferromagnetic insulating state in the bulk. The transferred electrons to the SMO side make it ferromagnetic through the Anderson-Hasegawa double exchange interaction, while the SIO part becomes ferromagnetic due to the doping of the half-filled Mott-Hubbard insulator as suggested by the Nagaoka Theorem. Our results are discussed in the context of the experiments for the same structure.