Large in-plane deformation of RuO6 octahedron and ferromagnetism of bulk SrRuO3

SrRuO3 is a ferromagnetic metal with several unusual physical properties such as zero thermal expansion below Tc, so-called Invar behavior. Another anomalous feature is that the a-axis lattice constant is larger than the b-axis lattice constant, a clear deviation from the predictions of the Glazer structural description with rigid RuO6 octahedron motion. Using high resolution neutron diffraction techniques, we show how these two structural anomalies arise from the irregular in-plane deformation, i.e. plastic behavior of the RuO6 octahedron, a weak band Jahn–Teller distortion. We further demonstrate that the ferromagnetic instability of SrRuO3 is related to the temperature-induced localization of Ru 4d bands. (paper)