Competing orbital ordering in RVO(3) compounds: High-resolution x-ray diffraction and thermal expansion

We report evidence for the phase coexistence of orbital orderings of different symmetry in RVO(3) compounds with intermediate-size rare earths. Through a study by high-resolution x-ray powder diffraction and thermal expansion, we show that the competing orbital orderings are associated with the magnitude of the VO(6) octahedral tilting and magnetic exchange striction in these compounds and that the phase-separated state is stabilized by lattice strains.