Electronic structure and Fermi surface of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8

Applying angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy of high angular and energy resolution we have measured the electronic structure of single crystals of Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O₈ near the Fermi energy. Along the high symmetry direction X a band is observed to disperse upwards and to cross the Fermi level, whose unoccupied part constitutes the hole-like carriers responsible for the superconductivity. From spectra along the M direction we find evidence for an electron pocket around the M point. The measured band widths appear to be drastically reduced compared with band structure calculations indicating strong electronic correlation effects. From the observation of Fermi-Dirac-like cut-offs in the spectra due to band crossings through the Fermi level we can confirm the existence and, in particular, the shape of the Fermi surface as calculated by band structure calculations.     

Photoemission of LaI2 and CeI2

The electronic structure of the layered compounds LaI₂ and CeI₂ was investigated by photoemission and electron energy loss spectroscopy. From the experimental results we are able to confirm the metallic nature of these compounds, and by using photon energy dependent measurements of the valence band we can identify the orbital character of the conduction band as essentially 5d¹-like. A detailed analysis of the Ce 3d and 4f spectra yields a remarkably small 4f-5d hybridization strength, almost completely decoupling the f-electron from the conduction band, which makes CeI₂ a somewhat unusual system compared to other metallic Ce compounds. Band structure calculations by Jepsen and Andersen [1] confirm these experimental results.     

Electronic quasiparticle renormalization on the spin wave energy scale

High-resolution photoemission data of the (110) iron surface reveal the existence of well-defined metallic surface resonances in good correspondence to band calculations. Close to the Fermi level, their dispersion and momentum broadening display anomalies characteristic of quasiparticle renormalization due to coupling to bosonic excitations. Its energy scale exceeds that of phonons by far, and is in striking coincidence with that of the spin wave spectrum in iron. The self-energy behavior thus gives spectroscopic evidence of a quasiparticle mass enhancement due to electron-magnon coupling.     

Rapid crack growth in a thermoelastic solid under mixed-mode thermomechanical loading

A two-dimensional steady-sate analysis of semi-infinite brittlecrack growth at a constant subcritical rate in an unboundedfully-coupled thermoelastic solid under mixed-mode thermomechanicalloading is made. The loading consists of normal and shear tractionsand heat fluxes applied as point sources (line loads in theout-of-plane direction). A related problem is solved exactly in an integral transformspace, and robust asymptotic forms used to reduce the originalproblem to a set of integral equations. The equations are partiallycoupled and exhibit operators of both Cauchy and Abel types,yet can be solved analytically. The temperature change field at a distance from the moving crackedge is then constructed, and its dominant term is found tobe controlled by the imposed heat fluxes. The role of this termis, indeed, enhanced if the heat fluxes serve to render thecrack as a net heat source/sink for the solid, as opposed tobeing a transmitter of heat across its plane. More generally,the influence of the thermoelastic coupling on this field, aswell as other functions, is found to increase with crack speed.     

Electronic quasiparticles and evolution of Fermi level spin states in thin magnetic layers

Here we report on high-resolution photoemission of iron layers grown on a W(1 1 0) substrate. The evolution of the substrate states upon sub-monolayer adsorption of Fe atoms leads to a shift in surface state binding energy. For thicker (1 1 0) films, sharp metallic surface states are obtained. Their dispersion displays the signature of quasiparticle renormalization due to dressing with excitations. The energy scale is characteristic for the spin wave spectrum in iron, thereby giving evidence of electron-magnon coupling. Furthermore, it is found that quantum well states occur as a function of layer thickness. These modify the spin density of states at the Fermi level in the ferromagnetic film.     

The electronic structure of KMnO4 investigated by resonant photoemission

The valence band of potassium permanganate (KMnO₄) was investigated by means of resonant photoemission spectroscopy (ResPES) at the Mn2p, Mn3p and O1s edge. These data confirm the previous conclusions of a strong deviation from a purely ionic charge distribution in this compound. The ResPES data are in agreement with previous results about the character of the individual valence band states. A simple cluster model is used to explain qualitatively the different structures seen in the valence band spectra and their dependence on the photon energy.     

Three-dimensional spin rotations at the Fermi surface of a strongly spin-orbit coupled surface system

The spin texture of the metallic two-dimensional electron system (sqrt[3]×sqrt[3])-Au/Ge(111) is revealed by fully three-dimensional spin-resolved photoemission, as well as by density functional calculations. The large hexagonal Fermi surface, generated by the Au atoms, shows a significant splitting due to spin-orbit interactions. The planar components of the spin exhibit a helical character, accompanied by a strong out-of-plane spin component with alternating signs along the six Fermi surface sections. Moreover, in-plane spin rotations toward a radial direction are observed close to the hexagon corners. Such a threefold-symmetric spin pattern is not described by the conventional Rashba model. Instead, it reveals an interplay with Dresselhaus-like spin-orbit effects as a result of the crystalline anisotropies.