Charge-spin correlation in van der Waals antiferromagenet NiPS3

Abstract

Strong charge-spin coupling is found in a layered transition-metal trichalcogenide NiPS3, a van derWaals antiferromagnet, from our study of the electronic structure using several experimental and theoretical tools: spectroscopic ellipsometry, x-ray absorption and photoemission spectroscopy, and density-functional calculations. NiPS3 displays an anomalous shift in the optical spectral weight at the magnetic ordering temperature, reflecting a strong coupling between the electronic and magnetic structures. X-ray absorption, photoemission and optical spectra support a self-doped ground state in NiPS3. Our work demonstrates that layered transition-metal trichalcogenide magnets are a useful candidate for the study of correlated-electron physics in two-dimensional magnetic material.