1. Bandwidth-control orbital-selective delocalization of 4f electrons in epitaxial Ce films
- Author
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Yang Liu, Yang Yang, Huiqiu Yuan, Peng Li, Yuan Fang, Chao Cao, Yi Wu, Zhiguang Xiao, and Hao Zheng
- Subjects
Electronic properties and materials ,Science ,FOS: Physical sciences ,General Physics and Astronomy ,02 engineering and technology ,Electron ,01 natural sciences ,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology ,Article ,Delocalized electron ,Condensed Matter - Strongly Correlated Electrons ,Surfaces, interfaces and thin films ,Metastability ,0103 physical sciences ,010306 general physics ,Physics ,Multidisciplinary ,Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) ,Condensed matter physics ,Fermi energy ,General Chemistry ,021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology ,Coupling (probability) ,Thermal conduction ,Phase transitions and critical phenomena ,Quasiparticle ,Condensed Matter::Strongly Correlated Electrons ,0210 nano-technology ,Dispersion (chemistry) - Abstract
The 4f-electron delocalization plays a key role in the low-temperature properties of rare-earth metals and intermetallics, and it is normally realized by the Kondo coupling between 4f and conduction electrons. Due to the large Coulomb repulsion of 4f electrons, the bandwidth-control Mott-type delocalization, commonly observed in d-electron systems, is difficult in 4f-electron systems and remains elusive in spectroscopic experiments. Here we demonstrate that the bandwidth-control orbital-selective delocalization of 4f electrons can be realized in epitaxial Ce films by thermal annealing, which results in a metastable surface phase with reduced layer spacing. The quasiparticle bands exhibit large dispersion with exclusive 4f character near \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\bar{{{\Gamma }}}$$\end{document}Γ¯ and extend reasonably far below the Fermi energy, which can be explained from the Mott physics. The experimental quasiparticle dispersion agrees well with density-functional theory calculation and also exhibits unusual temperature dependence, which could arise from the delicate interplay between the bandwidth-control Mott physics and the coexisting Kondo hybridization. Our work opens up the opportunity to study the interaction between two well-known localization-delocalization mechanisms in correlation physics, i.e., Kondo vs Mott, which can be important for a fundamental understanding of 4f-electron systems., The mechanism of the delocalization transition of 4f electrons in closely-packed Ce metal has been debated. Here, the authors present photoemission evidence for bandwidth-controlled Mott delocalization in a previously unreported structural phase of thin epitaxial Ce films obtained by thermal annealing.
- Published
- 2021