Resonant soft x-ray scattering investigation of orbital and magnetic ordering in La0.5Sr1.5MnO4 -: art. no. 245102

We report resonant x-ray scattering data of the orbital and magnetic ordering at low temperatures at the Mn L-2,L-3 edges in La0.5Sr1.5MnO4. The orderings display complex energy features close to the Mn absorption edges. Systematic modeling with atomic multiplet crystal field calculations was used to extract meaningful information regarding the interplay of spin, orbital, and Jahn-Teller order. These calculations provide a good general agreement with the observed energy dependence of the scattered intensity for a dominant orbital ordering of the d(x)(2)-z(2)/d(y)(2)-z(2) type. In addition, the origins of various spectral features are identified. The temperature dependence of the orbital and magnetic ordering was measured and suggests a strong interplay between the magnetic and orbital order parameters.