Nickelate Revealed by Resonant Inelastic X-Ray Scattering*

The discovery of superconductivity in a d^9-δ nickelate has inspired disparate theoretical perspectives regarding the essential physics of this class of materials. A key issue is the magnitude of the magnetic superexchange, which relates to whether cuprate-like high-temperature nickelate superconductivity could be realized. We address this question using Ni L-edge and O K-edge spectroscopy of the reduced trilayer nickelate d^9-1/3 La₄Ni₃O₈ and associated theoretical modeling. A magnon energy scale of ~80 meV resulting from a nearest-neighbor magnetic exchange of J=69(4) meV is observed, proving that d^9-δ nickelates can host a large superexchange. This value, along with that of the Ni-O hybridization estimated from our O K-edge data, implies that trilayer nickelates represent an intermediate case between the infinite-layer nickelates and the cuprates, and suggests that they represent a promising route towards higher-temperature nickelate superconductivity.