Bandwidth-control orbital-selective delocalization of 4f electrons in epitaxial Ce films

Yi Wu, Yuan Fang, Peng Li, Zhiguang Xiao, Hao Zheng, Huiqiu Yuan, Chao Cao, Yi-feng Yang () and Yang Liu ()
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Yi Wu: Zhejiang University
Yuan Fang: Zhejiang University
Peng Li: Zhejiang University
Zhiguang Xiao: Zhejiang University
Hao Zheng: Zhejiang University
Huiqiu Yuan: Zhejiang University
Chao Cao: Hangzhou Normal University
Yi-feng Yang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yang Liu: Zhejiang University

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: 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 $$\bar{{{\Gamma }}}$$ 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.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22710-2

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