Phonon excitations in Eu2Ir2O7 probed by inelastic x-ray scattering

Abstract

The study of phonon dynamics and its interplay with magnetic ordering is crucial for understanding the unique quantum phases in the pyrochlore iridates. Here, through inelastic x-ray scattering on a single crystal sample of the pyrochlore iridate Eu2Ir2O7, we map out the phonon excitation spectra in Eu2Ir2O7 and compare them with the theoretical phonon spectra calculated using the density functional theory. Possible phonon renormalization across the magnetic long-range order transition is observed in our experiments, which is consistent with the results of the previous Raman scattering experiments.