Mott and spin-Peierls physics in TiPO₄ under high pressure

الأصل · EN

TiPO₄ is a Mott insulator and one of few inorganic compounds featuring a spin-Peierls phase at low temperature. Recent experimental studies have suggested the presence of spin-Peierls dimerization also at ambient temperature though at high pressure. Here, we present a combined experimental and theoretical study of the energetics of the high-pressure phase. We analyse dimerization properties and their coupling to spin degrees of freedom. Most importantly, we argue that TiPO₄ resents a direct analogue to the celebrated binary transition metal oxide VO₂. TiPO₄ allows to assess spin-dimer physics in the high-pressure regime in a controlled fashion, having the potential to become an important model system representative of the class of dimerized transition metal oxides.