Microscopic Route to Nematicity in Sr3Ru2O7

Understand

An anisotropic metallic phase dubbed electronic nematic phase bounded by two consecutive metamagnetic transitions has been reported in the bilayer ruthenate Sr3Ru2O7.

• It has also been shown that the nematic and the accompanying metamagnetic transitions are driven by an effective momentum-dependent quadrupole-type interaction.
• Here, we study the microscopic origin of such an effective interaction.
• To elucidate the mechanism behind the spontaneous Fermi surface distortion associated with the nematic, we identify a simple tight binding model based on t2g orbitals, spin-orbit coupling and the rotation of RuO6 octahedra as starting point, consistent with the Fermi surface obtained from recent angle-resolved photoemission data.