We have investigated charge dynamics and electronic structures for single crystals of metallic layered nickelates, R2-xSrxNiO4 (R=Nd, Eu), isostructural to La2-xSrxCuO4. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy on the barely-metallic Eu0.9Sr1.1NiO4
(R=Eu, x=1.1) has revealed a large hole surface of x2-y2 character with a high-energy pseudogap of the same symmetry and comparable magnitude with those of underdoped (x<0.1) cuprates, although the antiferromagnetic interactions are one order of magnitude smaller. This finding strongly indicates that the momentum-dependent pseudogap feature in the layered nickelate arises from the real-space charge correlation.
Time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (trPES) can directly detect transient electronic structure, thus bringing out its promising potential to clarify nonequilibrium processes arising in condensed matters. Here we report the result of core-level (
CL) trPES on 1T-TaS2, realized by developing a high-intensity 60 eV laser obtained by high-order harmonic (HH) generation. Ta4f CL-trPES offers the transient amplitude of the charge-density-wave (CDW), via the site-selective and real-time observation of Ta electrons. The present result indicates an ultrafast photoinduced melting and recovery of CDW amplitude, followed by a peculiar long-life oscillation (i.e. collective amplitudon excitation) accompanying the transfer of 0.01 electrons among adjacent Ta atoms. CL-trPES offers a broad range of opportunities for investigating the ultrafast atom-specific electron dynamics in photo-related phenomena of interest.
Electronic structures of the quantum critical superconductor beta-YbAlB4 and its polymorph alpha-YbAlB4 are investigated by using bulk-sensitive hard x-ray photoemission spectroscopy. From the Yb 3d core level spectra, the values of the Yb valence ar
e estimated to be ~2.73 and ~2.75 for alpha- and beta-YbAlB4, respectively, thus providing clear evidence for valence fluctuations. The valence band spectra of these compounds also show Yb2+ peaks at the Fermi level. These observations establish an unambiguous case of a strong mixed valence at quantum criticality for the first time among heavy fermion systems, calling for a novel scheme for a quantum critical model beyond the conventional Doniach picture in beta-YbAlB4.
Laser angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) is employed to investigate the temperature (T) dependence of the electronic structure in BaFe2As2 across the magneto-structural transition at TN ~ 140 K. A drastic transformation in Fermi surfac
e (FS) shape across TN is observed, as expected by first-principles band calculations. Polarization-dependent ARPES and band calculations consistently indicate that the observed FSs at kz ~ pi in the low-T antiferromagnetic (AF) state are dominated by the Fe3dzx orbital, leading to the two-fold electronic structure. These results indicate that magneto-structural transition in BaFe2As2 accompanies orbital-dependent modifications in the electronic structure.
Low energy electronic structure of optimally doped YBa2Cu3O7-d is investigated using laser-excited angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. The surface state and the CuO chain band that usually overlap the CuO2 plane derived bands are not detected,
thus enabling a clear observation of the bulk superconducting state. The observed bilayer splitting of the Fermi surface is ~0.08 angstrom^{-1} along the (0,0)-(pi,pi) direction, significantly larger than Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d. The kink structure of the band dispersion reflecting the renormalization effect at ~60 meV shows up similarly as in other hole-doped cuprates. The momentum-dependence of the superconducting gap shows d_{x^2-y^2}-wave like amplitude, but exhibits a nonzero minimum of ~12 meV along the (0,0)-(pi,pi) direction. Possible origins of such an unexpected nodeless gap behavior are discussed.
We have performed a temperature-dependent angle-integrated laser photoemission study of iron oxypnictide superconductors LaFeAsO:F and LaFePO:F exhibiting critical transition temperatures (Tcs) of 26 K and 5 K, respectively. We find that high-Tc LaFe
AsO:F exhibits a temperature-dependent pseudogap-like feature extending over ~0.1 eV about the Fermi level at 250 K, whereas such a feature is absent in low-Tc LaFePO:F. We also find ~20-meV pseudogap-like features and signatures of superconducting gaps both in LaFeAsO:F and LaFePO:F. We discuss the possible origins of the unusual pseudogap-like features through comparison with the high-Tc cuprates.
