The Jahn-Teller effect is one of the most fundamental phenomena important not only for physics but also for chemistry and material science. Solving the Jahn-Teller problem and taking into account strong electron correlations we show that quantum entanglement of the spin and orbital degrees of freedom via spin-orbit coupling strongly affects this effect. Depending on the number of $d$ electrons, it may quench (electronic configurations $t_{2g}^2$, $t_{2g}^4$, and $t_{2g}^5$), partially suppress ($t_{2g}^1$), or, in contrast, induce ($t_{2g}^3$) Jahn-Teller distortions. Moreover, in certain situations, interplay between the Jahn-Teller effect and spin-orbit coupling promotes formation of the “Mexican hat” energy surface facilitating various quantum phenomena.

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Jahn-Teller效应和自旋轨道耦合：是敌还是友？

詹恩-泰勒效应是最基本的现象之一，不仅对物理学而且对化学和材料科学也很重要。解决Jahn-Teller问题并考虑到强电子相关性，我们表明自旋和轨道自由度的量子纠缠通过自旋轨道耦合强烈影响了这一效应。取决于数量$d$ 电子，它可能会淬灭（电子结构 ${Ť}_{2G}^2$， ${Ť}_{2G}^4$和 ${Ť}_{2G}^5$），部分抑制（${Ť}_{2G}^{\mathrm{1个}}$），或者相反，诱导（${Ť}_{2G}^3$）Jahn-Teller失真。此外，在某些情况下，Jahn-Teller效应与自旋轨道耦合之间的相互作用会促进“墨西哥帽”能表面的形成，从而有利于各种量子现象。