Optical Spectroscopic Studies of the Metal-Insulator Transition Driven by All-In–All-Out Magnetic Ordering in 5d Pyrochlore Cd2Os2O7

Abstract

We investigated the metal-insulator transition (MIT) driven by all-in–all-out (AIAO) antiferromagnetic ordering in the 5d pyrochlore Cd 2 Os 2 O 7 using optical spectroscopy and first-principles calculations. We showed that the temperature evolution in the band-gap edge and free carrier density were consistent with rigid upward (downward) shifts of electron (hole) bands, similar to the case of Lifshitz transitions. The delicate relationship between the band gap and free carrier density provides experimental evidence for the presence of an AIAO metallic phase, a natural consequence of such MITs. The associated spectral weight change at high energy and first-principles calculations further support the origin of the MIT from the band shift near the Fermi level. Our data consistently support that the MIT induced by AIAO ordering in Cd 2 Os 2 O 7 is not close to a Slater type but instead to a Lifshitz type.