{
  "abstract": "The recent discovery of Ruddlesden–Popper (RP) nickelate thin-film superconductors has opened a new frontier in unconventional superconductivity. Its realization requires both compressive epitaxial strain and highly oxidative growth conditions, yet the microscopic pathway from the parent phase to the superconducting phase remains elusive. Here, X-ray absorption spectra and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering are employed to track this evolution by independently tuning strain and oxygen content in (La,Pr)\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document} $_3$\\end{document}Ni\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document} $_2$\\end{document}O\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document} $_{7-\\delta }$\\end{document} thin films. We uncover a remarkable two-step narrative. First, signatures of delocalization emerge: spectral weight transfers from an ‘Upper Hubbard’-like peak to the hole-like peak associated with O \\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document} $2p_z$\\end{document} state, and in parallel, the initially localized Ni \\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document} $3d_{z^2}$\\end{document} orbital becomes more itinerant followed by the broadening and weakening of d–d orbital excitations. Second, as itinerancy increases, long-range spin–density–wave (SDW) order is suppressed in both intensity and correlation length, indicating direct competition with superconductivity. Yet, short-range magnons persist: they become damped but their bandwidth stays unchanged. Our results paint a coherent picture that both strain and oxygenation drive the RP bilayer nickelates toward the superconducting instability, where the O \\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document} $2p_z$\\end{document} and Ni \\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document} $3d_{z^2}$\\end{document} orbitals become delocalized. Concomitantly, the long-range magnetic order loses coherence and gets suppressed. These findings establish an orbital-selective route to RP nickelate superconductivity, in which the emergence and progressive delocalization of the interlayer \\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document} $3d_{z^2}$\\end{document}–\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document} $2p_z$\\end{document}–\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document} $3d_{z^2}$\\end{document} channel and the robust short-range magnons upon the melting of SDW order are prerequisites, providing strong constraints for theory and the roadmap for designing nickelate superconductors.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Diamond Light Source, Harwell Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, UK.",
    "National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory and School of Nuclear Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China.",
    "State Key Laboratory of Quantum Functional Materials, Department of Physics, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Topological Matter, and Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Quantum Science, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China.",
    "Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics and Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.",
    "Department of Physics & Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.",
    "Quantum Science Center of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Shenzhen 518045, China.",
    "Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Clarendon Laboratory, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PU, UK.",
    "National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures and Department of Physics, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China.",
    "Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China.",
    "New Cornerstone Laboratory, Hefei National Laboratory, Hefei 230088, China."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 23,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Xiaoyang Chen",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3195-0864"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Wenliang Zhang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Fei Peng"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Ting Cui"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        5
      ],
      "name": "Guangdi Zhou"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Zezhong Li"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jaewon Choi"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Lizhi Xu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        6
      ],
      "name": "Yiu-Fung Chiu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Stefano Agrestini"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Sahil Tippireddy"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        5
      ],
      "name": "Haoliang Huang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        5
      ],
      "name": "Heng Wang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Xianfeng Wu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        5
      ],
      "name": "Peng Li"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        5
      ],
      "name": "Jin-Feng Jia"
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    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Mirian Garcia-Fernandez"
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    {
      "affs": [
        7,
        8
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      "name": "Yi Lu"
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    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Er-Jia Guo"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        5
      ],
      "name": "Qi-Kun Xue"
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    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        5
      ],
      "name": "Zhuoyu Chen",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-6111-7558"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        9
      ],
      "name": "Donglai Feng"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Ke-Jin Zhou",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9293-0595"
    }
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  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9v015t8kzm32a.bib",
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  "doi": "10.1093/nsr/nwag518",
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  "published": "2026-08-25",
  "publisher": "Oxford University Press",
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  ],
  "title": "3dz2 orbital delocalization and magnetic collapse in superconducting (La,Pr)3Ni2O7-δ films",
  "title_text": "3dz2 orbital delocalization and magnetic collapse in superconducting (La,Pr)3Ni2O7-δ films",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-06T12:21:56Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9v015t8kzm32a",
  "venue": "National science review",
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