Latent instabilities in metallic LaNiO3 films by strain control of Fermi-surface topology

Strain control is one of the most promising avenues to search for new emergent phenomena in transition-metal-oxide films. Here, we investigate the strain-induced changes of electronic structures in strongly correlated LaNiO3 (LNO) films, using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and the dynamical mean-field theory. The strongly renormalized e(g)-orbital bands are systematically rearranged by misfit strain to change its fermiology. As tensile strain increases, the hole pocket centered at the A point elongates along the kz-axis and seems to become open, thus changing Fermi-surface (FS) topology from three-to quasi-two-dimensional. Concomitantly, the FS shape becomes flattened to enhance FS nesting. A FS superstructure with Q(1) = (1/2,1/2,1/2) appears in all LNO films, while a tensile-strained LNO film has an additional Q(2) = (1/4,1/4,1/4) modulation, indicating that some instabilities are present in metallic LNO films. Charge disproportionation and spin-density-wave fluctuations observed in other nickelates might be their most probable origins.