PES and XAS Study on Electronic Structures of Multiferroic RMnO₃ (R=Y, Er)

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Electronic structures of multiferroic RMnO₃ (R=Y, Er) have been investigated by employing photoemission spectroscopy (PES) and x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). We have found that Mn ions in RMnO₃ are in the trivalent high-spin state with the total spin of S=2. The occupied Mn (dxz - dyz) states lie deep below EF, while the occupied Mn (dxy - dₓ₂ ₋y₂) states overlap very much with the O 2p states. It is observed that the PES spectral intensity of Mn 3d states is negligible above the occupied O 2p bands, suggesting that YMnO₃ is likely to be a charge-transfer insulator. The Mn d₃z₂ ₋ᵣ₂ state is mostly unoccupied in the ferroelectric phase of YMnO₃.