We address the in-plane pressure-dependent electrodynamics of graphite through synchrotron based infrared spectroscopy and ab initio Density Functional Theory calculations. The Drude term remarkably increases upon pressure application, as a consequen
ce of an enhancement of both electron and hole charge densities. This is due to the growth of the band dispersion along the k_z direction between the K and H points of the Brillouin zone. On the other hand, the mid-infrared optical conductivity between 800 and 5000 cm-1 is almost flat, and very weakly pressure dependent, at least up to 7 GPa. This demonstrates a surprising robustness of the graphene-like universal quantum conductance of graphite, even when the interlayer distance is significantly reduced.
We measure the optical conductivity of (SrMnO3)n/(LaMnO3)2n superlattices (SL) for n=1,3,5, and 8 and 10 < T < 400 K. Data show a T-dependent insulator to metal transition (IMT) for n leq 3, driven by the softening of a polaronic mid-infrared band. A
t n = 5 that softening is incomplete, while at the largest-period n=8 compound the MIR band is independent of T and the SL remains insulating. One can thus first observe the IMT in a manganite system in the absence of the disorder due to chemical doping. Unsuccessful reconstruction of the SL optical properties from those of the original bulk materials suggests that (SrMnO3)n/(LaMnO3)2n heterostructures give rise to a novel electronic state.
We measured the THz reflectance properties of a high quality epitaxial thin film of the Fe-based superconductor BaFe$_{1.84}$Co$_{0.16}$As$_2$ with T$_c$=22.5 K. The film was grown by pulsed laser deposition on a DyScO$_3$ substrate with an epitaxial
SrTiO$_3$ intermediate layer. The measured $R_S/R_N$ spectrum, i.e. the reflectivity ratio between the superconducting and normal state reflectance, provides clear evidence of a superconducting gap $Delta_A$ close to 15 cm$^{-1}$. A detailed data analysis shows that a two-band, two-gap model is absolutely necessary to obtain a good description of the measured $R_S/R_N$ spectrum. The low-energy $Delta_A$ gap results to be well determined ($Delta_A$=15.5$pm$0.5 cm$^{-1}$), while the value of the high-energy gap $Delta_B$ is more uncertain ($Delta_B$=55$pm$7 cm$^{-1}$). Our results provide evidence of a nodeless isotropic double-gap scenario, with the presence of two optical gaps corresponding to 2$Delta/kT_c$ values close to 2 and 7.
The metal to insulator transition in the charge transfer NiS{2-x}Se{x} compound has been investigated through infrared reflectivity. Measurements performed by applying pressure to pure NiS2 (lattice contraction) and by Se-alloying (lattice expansion)
reveal that in both cases an anomalous metallic state is obtained. We find that optical results are not compatible with the linear Se-alloying vs Pressure scaling relation previously established through transport, thus pointing out the substantially different microscopic origin of the two transitions.
