Using angle resolved photoemission it is shown that the low lying electronic states of the iron pnictide parent compound EuFe$_2$As$_2$ are strongly modified in the magnetically ordered, low temperature, orthorhombic state compared to the tetragonal,
paramagnetic case above the spin density wave transition temperature. Back-folded bands, reflected in the orthorhombic/ anti-ferromagnetic Brillouin zone boundary hybridize strongly with the non-folded states, leading to the opening of energy gaps. As a direct consequence, the large Fermi surfaces of the tetragonal phase fragment, the low temperature Fermi surface being comprised of small droplets, built up of electron and hole-like sections. These high resolution ARPES data are therefore in keeping with quantum oscillation and optical data from other undoped pnictide parent compounds.
Photoemission data taken with hard x-ray radiation on cleaved single crystals of the bilayered, colossal magnetoresistant manganite La_(2-2x)Sr_(1+2x)Mn_2O_7 (LSMO) with 0.30<x<0.50 are presented. Making use of the increased bulk-sensitivity upon har
d x-ray excitation it is shown that the core level footprint of the electronic structure of the LSMO cleavage surface is identical to that of the bulk. Furthermore, by comparing the core level shift of the different elements as a function of doping level x, it is shown that microscopic phase separation is unlikely to occur for this particular manganite well above the Curie temperature.
Photoemission data taken with hard X-ray radiation on cleaved single crystals of the barium parent compound of the MFe$_2$As$_2$ pnictide high temperature superconductor family are presented. Making use of the increased bulk-sensitivity upon hard X-r
ay excitation, and comparing the results to data taken at conventional VUV photoemission excitation energies, it is shown that the BaFe$_2$As$_2$ cleavage surface provides an electrostatic environment that is slightly different to the bulk, most likely in the form of a modified Madelung potential. However, as the data argue against a different surface doping level, and the surface-related features in the spectra are by no means as dominating as seen in systems such as YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_x$, we can conclude that the itinerant, near-E$_F$ electronic states are almost unaffected by the existence of the cleavage surface. Furthermore, exploiting the strong changes in photoionisation cross section between the Fe and As states across the wide photon energy range employed, it is shown that the degree of energetic overlap between the iron 3d and arsenic 4p valence bands is particularly small at the Fermi level, which can only mean a very low degree of hybridization between the Fe 3d and As 4p states near and at E$_F$. Consequently, the itinerancy of the charge carriers in this group of materials involves mainly the Fe 3d - Fe 3d overlap integrals with at best a minor role for the Fe 3d - As 4p hopping parameters, and that the states which support superconductivity upon doping are essentially of Fe 3d character.
