Signatures of spin-orbital states of t2g2 system in optical conductivity: RVO3 (R=Y and La)

We investigate signatures of the spin and orbital states of RVO3 (R=Y and La) in optical conductivity using density functional theory plus dynamical mean-field theory (DFT+DMFT). From the assignment of multiplet state configurations to optical transitions, the DFT+DMFT reproduces experimental temperature-dependent evolutions of optical conductivity for both YVO3 and LaVO3. We also show that the optical conductivity is a useful quantity to probe the evolution of the orbital state even in the absence of spin order. The result provides a reference to investigate the spin and orbital states of t2g2 vanadate systems, which is an important issue for both fundamental physics on spin and orbital states and applications of vanadates by means of orbital state control.