Nonmagnetic J = 0 State and Spin-Orbit Excitations in $K_{2}RuCl_{6}$

Physical review letters 127(22), 227201 (2021). doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.127.227201
Spin-orbit Mott insulators composed of $t^4_{2g}$ transition metal ions may host excitonic magnetism due to the condensation of spin-orbital J=1 triplons. Prior experiments suggest that the 4d antiferromagnet Ca$_2$RuO$_4$ embodies this notion, but a J=0 nonmagnetic state as a basis of the excitonic picture remains to be confirmed. We use Ru L$_3$-edge resonant inelastic x-ray scattering to reveal archetypal J multiplets with a J=0 ground state in the cubic compound K$_2$RuCl$_6$, which are well described within the LS-coupling scheme. This result highlights the critical role of unquenched orbital moments in 4d-electron compounds and calls for investigations of quantum criticality and excitonic magnetism on various crystal lattices.
Published by APS, College Park, Md.