Orbital Physics in Magnetic Metal Oxides

(note the slightly later time of this seminar) An electron in a solid has three attributes: charge, spin, and orbital. The orbital represents the shape of the electron cloud in a solid. In magnetic metal oxides with anisotropic-shaped d-orbitals not only the Coulomb interactions are of importance, but also the quantum exchange energy is crucial for understanding their properties. The orbital degree of freedom causes a variety of phenomena through strong coupling with charge, spin, and lattice dynamics; which determine the catalytic activity of magnetic oxides. An overview will be given on the orbital physics of perovskites in relation to oxygen technology.