Enhanced $d$-$p$ hybridization intertwined with anomalous ground state formation in van der Waals-coupled magnetic metal Fe${}_5$GeTe${}_2$

Abstract

Fe${}_5$GeTe${}_2$ is a van der Waals (vdW)-coupled unconventional ferromagnetic metal with a high Curie temperature ($T_C$) exceeding 300 K. The formation of an anomalous ground state significantly below $T_C$ has received considerable attention, resulting in increased interest in understanding the spin-polarized electronic state evolution near the Fermi energy ($E_F$) as a function of temperature. Despite recent extensive studies, a microscopic understanding of the spin-polarized electronic structure around $E_F$ has not yet been established owing to the intrinsic complexity of both the crystal and band structures. In this study, we investigate the temperature dependence of element-specific soft X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD). A systematic temperature evolution in the XMCD signal from both magnetic Fe and its ligand Te is clearly observed. More importantly, the enhancement in the hybridization between the Fe 3$d$ and Te 5$p$ states in the zero-magnetic field limit is revealed, and we discuss its implications on the possible emergence of an exotic magnetic ground state in Fe${}_5$GeTe${}_2$.

12 pages, 4 figures

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Cited by in corpus (2)

• Thermal cycling induced alteration of the stacking order and spin-flip in the room temperature van der Waals magnet Fe${}_5$GeTe${}_2$
• Magnetic excitations and absence of charge order in the van der Waals ferromagnet Fe${}_{4.75}$GeTe${}_2$