Dynamical correlation enhanced orbital magnetization in VI3

Abstract

The effect of electronic correlations on the orbital magnetization in real materials has not been explored beyond a static mean-field level. Based on the dynamical mean-field theory, the effect of electronic correlations on the orbital magnetization in layered ferromagnet ${\mathrm{VI}}_{3}$ has been studied. A comparison drawn with the results obtained from density-functional theory calculations robustly establishes the crucial role of dynamical correlations in this case. In contrast to the density-functional theory that leads to negligible orbital magnetization in ${\mathrm{VI}}_{3}$, in dynamical mean-field approach the orbital magnetization is greatly enhanced. Further analysis shows that this enhancement is mainly due to the enhanced local circulations of electrons, which can be attributed to a better description of the localization behavior of correlated electrons in ${\mathrm{VI}}_{3}$. The conclusion drawn in our paper could be applicable to a wide range of layered materials in this class.