Magnetization-density distribution in the metallic ferromagnet SrRuO3 determined by polarized neutron diffraction

Abstract

The magnetization-density distribution in the metallic ferromagnet SrRuO$_3$ was studied by means of polarized neutron diffraction. The analyzes by multipole refinements and by the maximum entropy method consistently reveal a strong polarization of all oxygen sites carrying 30\% of the total magnetization. The spin-density distribution on the Ru site exhibits a nearly cubic shape in agreement with an almost equal occupation of $t_{2g}$ orbitals and $pd$ hybridization. The experimental analysis is well reproduced by density functional calculations. There is no qualitative change in the magnetization distribution between 2 and 200 K.