Momentum-Resolved Spectroscopy of Quantum Materials

prx review RIXS cropped

Emergent phenomena in quantum materials, such as unconventional superconductivity, charge order, and magnetism, arise from a subtle interplay of charge, spin, orbital, and lattice degrees of freedom. Understanding these behaviors hinges on effective models built from experiments that directly probe elementary excitations —such as magnons, phonons, and orbitons— at microscopic scales in order to capture the essential physics with minimal parameters. Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering (RIXS) provides unparalleled access to these excitations, enabling element-specific studies of quantum materials. By probing collective electronic phenomena at finite momentum, RIXS is able to investigate microscopic phenomena at energy and length-scales traditionally inaccessible to optics or transport. Our work leverages equilibrium RIXS to investigate systems ranging from complex oxides to van der Waals materials, uncovering charge and spin dynamics, electronic symmetry breaking, and coupled excitations. 

Reviews:

  • M. Mitrano, S. Johnston, Y.-J. Kim, & M. P. M. Dean (2024): Exploring Quantum Materials with Resonant Inelastic X-Ray Scattering, Physical Review X 14, 040501.

Relevant Publications:

  • W. He, Y. Shen, K. Wohlfeld, J. Sears, J. Li, J. Pelliciari, M. Walicki, S. Johnston, E. Baldini, V. Bisogni, M. Mitrano, & M. P. M. Dean (2024): Magnetically propagating Hund’s exciton in van der Waals antiferromagnet NiPS3, Nature Communications 15, 3496.

  • Y. Shen, J. Sears, G. Fabbris, J. Li, J. Pelliciari, M. Mitrano, W. He, J. Zhang, J. F. Mitchell, V. Bisogni, M. R. Norman, S. Johnston, & M. P. M. Dean (2023): Electronic character of charge order in square planar low-valence nickelates, Physical Review X 13, 011021.

  • Y. Shen, J. Sears, G. Fabbris, J. Li, J. Pelliciari, I. Jarrige, X. He, I. Bozovic, M. Mitrano, J. Zhang, J. F. Mitchell, A. S. Botana, V. Bisogni, M. R. Norman, S. Johnston, & M. P. M. Dean (2022): Role of oxygen states in the low valence nickelate La4Ni3O8. Physical Review X 12, 011055.

  • Padma, H., Thomas, J., TenHuisen, S., He, W., Guan, Z., Li, J., Lee, B., Wang, Y., Lee, S. H., Mao, Z., Jang, H., Bisogni, V., Pelliciari, J., Dean, M. P. M., Johnston, S., & Mitrano, M. (2025). Beyond-Hubbard pairing in a cuprate ladder. Physical Review X (In Press).

  • TenHuisen, S. F. R., Pan, G. A., Song, Q., Baykusheva, D. R., Segedin, D. F., Goodge, B. H., Paik, H., Pelliciari, J., Bisogni, V., Gu, Y., Agrestini, S., Nag, A., García-Fernández, M., Zhou, K.-J., Kourkoutis, L. F., Brooks, C. M., Mundy, J. A., Dean, M. P. M., & Mitrano, M. (2025). Magnetic excitations in Ndn+1NinO3n+1 Ruddlesden-Popper nickelates observed via resonant inelastic x-ray scattering. Physical Review B 111, 165145.

  • He, W., Sears, J., Barantani, F., Kim, T., Villanova, J. W., Berlijn, T., Lajer, M., McGuire, M. A., Pelliciari, J., Bisogni, V., Johnston, S., Baldini, E., Mitrano, M., & Dean, M. P. M. (2025). Dispersive dark excitons in van der Waals ferromagnet CrI3. Physical Review X 15, 011042.