Photoemission Study of Rare-Earth Ditelluride Compounds (ReTe_2 : Re = La, Pr, Sm, and Gd)

We study the electronic structure of an exotic superconductor, PdTe employing depth-resolved high resolution photoemission spectroscopy and density functional theory. The valence band spectra exhibit large density of states at the Fermi level with flat intensity in a wide energy range indicating highly metallic ground state. The Pd 4d-Te 5p hybridization is found to be strong leading to a highly covalent character of the itinerant states. Core level spectra exhibit several fe...

We have performed x-ray photoemission spectroscopy on the system of noncentrosymmetric superconductor, Li$_2$(Pd$_x$Pt$_{1-x}$3)B. For Li$_2$Pt$_3$B, we found 2 major peaks with 2 other weak components, and the band calculations were in agreement with the observation. The assignment of valence band features using the calculated partial density of states determined that Pt 5d and B 2p contribute to the density of states at the Fermi level. The effect of antisymmetric spin-orbi...

The electronic structures of rare-earth elements in the HCP structure, and Europium in the BCC structure, are calculated by use of density-functional theory, DFT. Simulation of X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) and bremsstrahlung isochromatic spectroscopy (BIS) are made within DFT by imposing that f-electrons are excited by a large photon energy, either by removing from the occupied states in XPS, or by adding to the unoccupied f-states in BIS. The results show sizable d...

Electronic structure and chemical bonding in TiX2 (X=S, Se, Te), TMxTiSe2 (TM=Cr, Mn, Cu) and CrxTi1-xSe2 were studied by x-ray resonance photoemission and absorption spectroscopy. These methods are detected to be strong sensitive to chemical bonding. Charge transfer from the intercalated atoms to Ti 3d band is detected. Narrow Ti 3d and Cu 3d bands are observed under Fermi level in CuxTiSe2.

A phenomenological approach is presented that allows one to model, and thereby interpret, photoemission spectra of strongly correlated electron systems. A simple analytical formula for the self-energy is proposed. This self-energy describes both coherent and incoherent parts of the spectrum (quasiparticle and Hubbard peaks, respectively). Free parameters in the expression are determined by fitting the density of states to experimental photoemission data. An explicit fitting i...

Yttrium can be loaded with hydrogen up to high concentrations causing dramatic structural and electronic changes of the host lattice. We report on angle-resolved photoemission experiments of the Y trihydride phase. Most importantly, we find the absence of metal d-bands at the Fermi level and a set of flat, H-induced bands located at much higher binding energy than predicted, indicating an increased electron affinity at H sites.

The electronic structure of the rare-earth mononitrides LnN (where Ln=rare-earth), which are promising materials for future spintronics applications, is difficult to resolve experimentally due to a strong influence of defects on their transport and optical properties. At the same time, LnN are challenging for theory, since wide semiconducting/semimetallic 2p and 5d bands need to be described simultaneously with strongly correlated 4f states. Here, we calculate the many-body s...

Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) is one of the most direct methods of studying the electronic structure of solids. By measuring the kinetic energy and angular distribution of the electrons photoemitted from a sample illuminated with sufficiently high-energy radiation, one can gain information on both the energy and momentum of the electrons propagating inside a material. This is of vital importance in elucidating the connection between electronic, magnetic, a...

Group-5 transition metal ditellurides $M$Te$_2$ ($M$ = V, Nb, Ta) are unique CdI$_2$-type layered materials that exhibit peculiar quasi-one-dimensional intralayer superstructures, known as ribbon-chains and butterfly-like clusters of $M$ atoms. In this review article, we attempt to systematically understand their electronic band structures based on our recent angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) studies and first-principles calculations. We underscore the role of...

The electronic band structure of GaTe has been calculated by numerical atomic orbitals density-functional theory, in the local density approximation. In addition, the valence-band dispersion along various directions of the GaTe Brillouin zone has been determined experimentally by angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy. Along these directions, the calculated valence-band structure is in good concordance with the valence-band dispersion obtained by these measurements. It has...