Mario Okawa

Orbital-dependent modifications of electronic structure across the magnetostructural transition in BaFe2As2.

Laser angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) is employed to investigate the temperature (T) dependence of the electronic structure in BaFe2As2 across the magnetostructural transition at T{N} approximately 140 K. A drastic transformation in Fermi surface (FS) shape across T{N} is observed, as expected by first-principles band calculations. Polarization-dependent ARPES and band calculations consistently indicate that the observed FSs at k{z} approximately pi in the low-T antiferromagnetic state are dominated by the Fe3d{zx} orbital, leading to the twofold electronic structure. These results indicate that magnetostructural transition in BaFe2As2 accompanies orbital-dependent modifications in the electronic structure.

Orbital-Independent Superconducting Gaps in Iron Pnictides

Bulk photoemission studies of iron pnictides suggest a role for orbital fluctuations in creating the superconducting state. The origin of superconductivity in the iron pnictides has been attributed to antiferromagnetic spin ordering that occurs in close combination with a structural transition, but there are also proposals that link superconductivity to orbital ordering. We used bulk-sensitive laser angle–resolved photoemission spectroscopy on BaFe2(As0.65P0.35)2 and Ba0.6K0.4Fe2As2 to elucidate the role of orbital degrees of freedom on the electron-pairing mechanism. In strong contrast to previous studies, an orbital-independent superconducting gap magnitude was found for the hole Fermi surfaces. Our result is not expected from the superconductivity associated with spin fluctuations and nesting, but it could be better explained invoking magnetism-induced interorbital pairing, orbital fluctuations, or a combination of orbital and spin fluctuations. Regardless of the interpretation, our results impose severe constraints on theories of iron pnictides.

Strong valence fluctuation in the quantum critical heavy fermion superconductor β-YbAlB4: a hard x-ray photoemission study.

Electronic structures of the quantum critical superconductor β-YbAlB4 and its polymorph α-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 are estimated to be ∼2.73 and ∼2.75 for α- and β-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 β-YbAlB4.

Electronic structure of superconducting FeSe studied by high-resolution photoemission spectroscopy

We have performed soft x-ray and ultrahigh-resolution laser-excited photoemission measurements on tetragonal FeSe, which was recently identified as a superconductor. Energy dependent study of valence band is compared to band structure calculations and yields a reasonable assignment of partial densities of states. However, the sharp peak near the Fermi level slightly deviates from the calculated energy position, giving rise to the necessity of self-energy correction. We have also performed ultrahigh-resolution laser photoemission experiment on FeSe and observed the suppression of intensity around the Fermi level upon cooling.

Two-Fermi-surface superconducting state and a nodal d-wave energy gap of the electron-doped Sm1.85Ce0.15CuO(4-δ) cuprate superconductor.

We report on laser-excited angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy in the electron-doped cuprate Sm1.85Ce0.15CuO(4-δ). The data show the existence of a nodal hole-pocket Fermi surface both in the normal and superconducting states. We prove that its origin is long-range antiferromagnetism by an analysis of the coherence factors in the main and folded bands. This coexistence of long-range antiferrmagnetism and superconductivity implies that electron-doped cuprates are two-Fermi-surface superconductors. The measured superconducting gap in the nodal hole pocket is compatible with a d-wave symmetry.

Unusual Pseudogap Features Observed in Iron Oxypnictide Superconductors

We present angle-integrated photoemission spectroscopy (PES) study of LaOFeAs:F (Tc = 26 K) and LaOFeP:F (Tc = 5 K) using He I line (hν = 21.2 eV) and laser (hν = 6.994 eV) as excitation light sources. We find quantitatively consistent results between the He I and the laser PES measurements: LaFeAsO:F exhibits a temperature-dependent pseudogap as large as ∼0.1 eV at 300 K, whereas LaFePO:F exhibits a ∼20-meV pseudogap. We discuss possible origin of the T-dependent pseudogap specifically observed in LaFeAsO:F through comparison with other materials that exhibit unusual T-dependent pseudogaps.

Emergent photovoltage on SmB6 surface upon bulk-gap evolution revealed by pump-and-probe photoemission spectroscopy.

Recent studies suggest that an exemplary Kondo insulator SmB6 belongs to a new class of topological insulators (TIs), in which non-trivial spin-polarized metallic states emerge on surface upon the formation of Kondo hybridization gap in the bulk. Remarkably, the bulk resistivity reaches more than 20 Ω cm at 4 K, making SmB6 a candidate for a so-called bulk-insulating TI. We here investigate optical-pulse responses of SmB6 by pump-and-probe photoemission spectroscopy. Surface photovoltage effect is observed below ~90 K. This indicates that an optically-active band bending region develops beneath the novel metallic surface upon the bulk-gap evolution. The photovoltaic effect persists for >200 µs, which is long enough to be detected by electronics devices, and could be utilized for optical gating of the novel metallic surface.

Common Origin of the Circular-Dichroism Pattern in Angle-Resolved Photoemission Spectroscopy of SrTiO3 and CuxBi2Se3

We investigate circular dichroism in the angular distribution (CDAD) of photoelectrons from SrTiO{sub 3}:Nb and Cu{sub x}Bi{sub 2}Se{sub 3} recorded by 7-eV laser ARPES. In addition to the well-known node that occurs in CDAD when the incidence plane matches the mirror plane of the crystal, we show that another type of node occurs when the mirror plane of the crystal is vertical to the incidence plane and the electronic state is two dimensional. The flower-shaped CDADs occurring around the Fermi level of SrTiO{sub 3}:Nb and around the Dirac point of Cu{sub x}Bi{sub 2}Se{sub 3} are explained on equal footings. A surface-state-to-surface-resonance transition is indicated for the topological state of Cu{sub x}Bi{sub 2}Se{sub 3}.

Doping-dependence of nodal quasiparticle properties in high-Tc cuprates studied by laser-excited angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy

We investigate the doping dependent low energy, low temperature (

Hybridization gap formation in the Kondo insulatorYbB12observed using time-resolved photoemission spectroscopy

T