Fig. 1. Fluctuating spin–orbital order in YTiO3.
a, Crystal structure along with the associated low-temperature ferromagnetic and orbital ordering pattern. The orthorhombic structure determines the crystal field splitting and orbital mixing of the Ti t2g levels on each Ti site. b, Magnetization as a function of magnetic field measured at T << Tc, which saturates at high fields to roughly 0.8 μB per Ti, well below the theoretical limit. Fluctuations of the lattice and orbitals weaken ferromagnetic order through competing antiferromagnetic interactions, manifesting as a diminished magnetic moment and reduced critical temperature. c, Magnetization as a function of temperature. Spin correlations extend well above Tc = 27 K. The inset schematically shows the fluctuating orbital and spin configurations within the shaded region above Tc.