Orbital excitations in titanates
  Raman scattering is used to observe pronounced electronic excitations around 230 meV - well above the two-phonon range - in the Mott insulators LaTiO$_3$ and YTiO$_3$. Based on the temperature, polarization, and photon energy dependence, the modes are identified as orbital excitations. The observed profiles bear a striking resemblance to magnetic Raman modes in the insulating parent compounds of the superconducting cuprates, indicating an unanticipated universality of the electronic excitations in transition metal oxides. 
C. Ulrich, A. G\"ossling, M. Gr\"uninger, M. Guennou, H. Roth, M.   Cwik, T. Lorenz, G. Khaliullin, and B. Keimer