Co-operative Jahn-Teller effects

Abstract

The co-operative Jahn-Teller effect is a phase transition which is driven by the interaction between localized orbital electronic states and the crystal lattice. The possible origins, symmetries and properties of the electron-lattice interactions and how they lead to possible hamiltonians for the coupled system are discussed. The relation of these interactions with quadrupolar interactions and magnetostriction is included. The methods of solution of the hamiltonians lead to an understanding of the electronic states, the phonon spectrum and the mixed normal modes. The wide variety of experimental techniques used on this problem are reviewed in detail and the results are compared with theoretical expressions whenever possible. The application of external stress and magnetic field is of particular significance in the case of the rare earth compounds, because they can product effects which are larger than the low-temperature spontaneous effects.