Spin ordering and electronic texture in the bilayer iridate Sr ₃Ir ₂O ₇

Through a neutron scattering, charge transport, and magnetization study, the correlated ground state in the bilayer iridium oxide Sr ₃Ir ₂O ₇ is explored. Our combined results resolve scattering consistent with a high temperature magnetic phase that persists above 600 K, reorients at the previously defined T _AF=280 K, and coexists with an electronic ground state whose phase behavior suggests the formation of a fluctuating charge or orbital phase that freezes below T ^*70 K. Our study provides a window into the emergence of multiple electronic order parameters near the boundary of the metal to insulator phase transition of the 5d J _eff=1/2 Mott phase.