Imaging of spin density distribution by magnetic structure analysis in Nd2CuO4

Crystal- and magnetic-structure analyses for a single crystal of Nd2CuO4 (NCO) have been carried out to visualize the spin density distribution on 3d-electron orbital for Cu2+ ion. NCO is an antiferromagnet with 3d9 electronic configuration in Cu2+ ion, where S=1/2 spin localizes on dx2-y2 orbital. Spin density distribution ρ(r) of Cu2+ spin in NCO, which is directly obtained by three-dimensional Fourier synthesis of magnetic form factor f(Q), quite well agree with the calculated value of ρ(r) for 3d-electron on dx2-y2 orbital. The present results demonstrated that our method is of great use for imaging the electron orbital, and is applicable to various system where the orbital degree of freedom contributes to their physical properties.