Determination of the time scale of photoemission from the measurement of spin polarization

The Eisenbud-Wigner-Smith (EWS) time delay of photoemission depends on the phase term of the matrix element describing the transition. Because of an interference process between partial channels, the photoelectrons acquire a spin polarization which is also related to the phase term. The analytical model for estimating the time delay by measuring the spin polarization is reviewed in this manuscript. In particular, the distinction between scattering EWS and interfering EWS time delay will be introduced, providing an insight in the chronoscopy of photoemission. The method is applied to the recent experimental data for Cu(111) presented in M. Fanciulli et al., PRL 118, 067402 (2017), allowing to give better upper and lower bounds and estimates for the EWS time delays.Comment: 30 pages, 5 figure

Spin polarization and attosecond time delay in photoemission from solids

In the photoemission process electrons are emitted from a solid upon excitation with UV light. From the measurement of their energy and momentum, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) allows to reconstruct the electronic properties of the solid. In addition, in spin-resolved ARPES the spin polarization P of the electrons is measured while maintaining energy and momentum resolution of ARPES, required to probe a dispersive state of a solid. The spin information is related to the spin polarization of the state under investigation, but can be modified during the photoemission process. Indeed, even when the electrons originate from a spin-degenerate initial state, they can acquire a finite P. This effect, ultimately due to a symmetry breaking in the experiment, occurs when different channels in the matrix elements describing the transition coherently interfere. In particular, P is related to the phase shift between the complex matrix elements associated to the interfering channels. This phase shift is also closely related to another quantity: the Eisenbud-Wigner-Smith (EWS) time delay. Despite the fundamental difficulties to properly define the concept of time in quantum mechanics, the EWS time delay, introduced to describe the electron scattering process, can be adapted to study the chronoscopy of photoemission. Nowadays, thanks to advances in laser technology, time-resolved spectroscopic techniques that reach attosecond resolution allow to measure relative EWS time delays between photoelectrons from different states. In this Thesis, an alternative indirect way to probe the photoemission process in the attosecond domain without time-resolved laser techniques will be presented. The link between P from dispersive states of a solid and the EWS time delay will be introduced. An analytical model will be discussed, where the dependence of P with binding energy is related to the EWS time delay of photoemission as a scattering process and the EWS time delay between the interfering channels. The first experimental determination of EWS time delays from dispersive states by SARPES will be also presented. Synchrotron radiation-based SARPES is the main technique used in this Thesis. Results for a single crystal of Cu(111) give EWS time delays of about 26 as for the free-electron-like sp bulk-derived band. The P of the d bands and of the 3p core levels of copper is also investigated. On the other hand, experiments on the strongly correlated cuprate superconductor BSCCO2212 show EWS time delays that are at least 3 times larger than in Cu(111). A double polarization feature is observed for the dispersive states, likely related to self-energy corrections in the photoemission process. Recent results on BSCCO2212 performed with laser-based SARPES will be also discussed. The results presented in this Thesis pave the way for a qualitatively new kind of information accessible by the SARPES technique, which is complementary to attosecond-resolved spectroscopies. The model presented sheds light on the spin polarization that is obtained by one-step model photoemission calculations, where the time information becomes also available. This approach could help to advance in the understandings of the physics of materials of interests, in particular electronic correlations, but also to better interpret the spin information experimentally obtained in SARPES, as well as to describe the basics of the quantum mechanics of the photoemission process itself

Uncertainty Quantification of Non-Dimensional Parameters for a Film Cooling Configuration in Supersonic Conditions

In transonic high-pressure turbine stages, oblique shocks originating from vane trailing edges impact the suction side of each adjacent vane. High-pressure vanes are cooled to tolerate the combustor exit-temperature levels, then it is highly probable that shock impingement will occur in proximity to a row of cooling holes. The presence of such a shock, together with the inevitable manufacturing deviations, alters the location of the shock impingement and of the performance parameters of each cooling hole. The present work provides a general description of the aero-thermal field that occurs on the rear suction side of a cooled vane. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is used to evaluate the deterministic response of the selected configurations in terms of adiabatic effectiveness, discharge coefficient, blowing ratio, density ratio, and momentum ratio. Turbulence is modelled by using both the Shear Stress Transport method (SST) and the Reynolds Stress Model (RSM) implemented in ANSYS® FLUENT®. The obtained results are compared with the experimental data obtained by the Institut für Thermische Strömungsmaschinen in Karlsruhe. Two uncertainty quantification methodologies based on Hermite polynomials and Padè–Legendre approximants are used to consider the probability distribution of the geometrical parameters and to evaluate the response surfaces for the system response quantities. Trailing-edge and cooling-hole diameters have been considered to be aleatory unknowns. Uncertainty quantification analysis allows for the assessment of the mutual effects on global and local parameters of the cooling device. Obtained results demonstrate that most of the parameters are independent by the variation of the aleatory unknowns while the standard deviation of the blowing ratio associated with the hole diameter uncertainty is around 12%, with no impact by the trailing-edge thickness. No relevant advantages are found using either SST model or RSM in combination with Hermite polynomials and Padè–Legendre approximants

UCN-01 enhances cytotoxicity of irinotecan in colorectal cancer stem-like cells by impairing DNA damage response

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common and lethal cancers worldwide. Despite recent progress, the prognosis of advanced stage CRC remains poor, mainly because of cancer recurrence and metastasis. The high morbidity and mortality of CRC has been recently ascribed to a small population of tumor cells that hold the potential of tumor initiation, i.e. cancer stem cells (CSCs), which play a pivotal role in cancer recurrence and metastasis and are not eradicated by current therapy. We screened CRC-SCs in vitro with a library of protein kinase inhibitors and showed that CRC-SCs are resistant to specific inhibition of the major signaling pathways involved in cell survival and proliferation. Nonetheless, broad-spectrum inhibition by the staurosporin derivative UCN-01 blocks CRC-SC growth and potentiates the activity of irinotecan in vitro and in vivo CRC-SC-derived models. Reverse-Phase Protein Microarrays (RPPA) revealed that, albeit CRC-SCs display individual phospho-proteomic profiles, sensitivity of CRC-SCs to UCN-01 relies on the interference with the DNA damage response mediated by Chk1. Combination of LY2603618, a specific Chk1/2 inhibitor, with irinotecan resulted in a significant reduction of CRC-SC growth in vivo, confirming that irinotecan treatment coupled to inhibition of Chk1 represents a potentially effective therapeutic approach for CRC treatment

Single spin-polarised Fermi surface in SrTiO3_3 thin films

The 2D electron gas (2DEG) formed at the surface of SrTiO$_3$(001) has attracted great interest because of its fascinating physical properties and potential as a novel electronic platform, but up to now has eluded a comprehensible way to tune its properties. Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy with and without spin detection we here show that the band filling can be controlled by growing thin SrTiO$_3$ films on Nb doped SrTiO$_3$(001) substrates. This results in a single spin-polarised 2D Fermi surface, which bears potential as platform for Majorana physics. Based on our results it can furthermore be concluded that the 2DEG does not extend more than 2 unit cells into the film and that its properties depend on the amount of SrO$_x$ at the surface and possibly the dielectric response of the system

Observation of Wannier-Stark localization at the surface of BaTiO3_3 films by photoemission

Observation of Bloch oscillations and Wannier-Stark localization of charge carriers is typically impossible in single-crystals, because an electric field higher than the breakdown voltage is required. In BaTiO$_3$ however, high intrinsic electric fields are present due to its ferroelectric properties. With angle-resolved photoemission we directly probe the Wannier-Stark localized surface states of the BaTiO$_3$ film-vacuum interface and show that this effect extends to thin SrTiO$_3$ overlayers. The electrons are found to be localized along the in-plane polarization direction of the BaTiO$_3$ film

Spin-resolved electronic response to the phase transition in MoTe2_2

The semimetal MoTe$_2$ is studied by spin- and angle- resolved photoemission spectroscopy to probe the detailed electronic structure underlying its broad range of response behavior. A novel spin-texture is uncovered in the bulk Fermi surface of the non-centrosymmetric structural phase that is consistent with first-principles calculations. The spin-texture is three-dimensional, both in terms of momentum dependence and spin-orientation, and is not completely suppressed above the centrosymmetry-breaking transition temperature. Two types of surface Fermi arc are found to persist well above the transition temperature. The appearance of a large Fermi arc depends strongly on thermal history, and the electron quasiparticle lifetimes are greatly enhanced in the initial cooling. The results indicate that polar instability with strong electron-lattice interactions exists near the surface when the bulk is largely in a centrosymmetric phase

Spin polarization in photoemission from the cuprate superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta

Photoelectrons produced from the excitation of spin-degenerate states in solids can have a sizable spin polarization, which is related to the phase of interfering channels in the photoemission matrix elements. Such spin polarization can be measured by spin-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to gain information about the transitions and the Wigner time delay of the process. Incorporating strongly correlated electron systems into this paradigm could yield a novel means of extracting phase information crucial to understanding the mechanism of their emergent behavior. In this work, we present, as a case study, experimental measurements of the cuprate superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta by spin-resolved photoemission while maintaining full angular and energy resolution. A spin polarization of at least 10% is observed, which is related to the phase of the photoelectron wave function

Ultrafast Hidden Spin Polarization Dynamics of Bright and Dark Excitons in 2H-WSe2_2

We performed spin-, time- and angle-resolved extreme ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy (STARPES) of excitons prepared by photoexcitation of inversion-symmetric 2H-WSe$_2$ with circularly polarized light. The very short probing depth of XUV photoemission permits selective measurement of photoelectrons originating from the top-most WSe$_2$ layer, allowing for direct measurement of hidden spin polarization of bright and momentum-forbidden dark excitons. Our results reveal efficient chiroptical control of bright excitons' hidden spin polarization. Following optical photoexcitation, intervalley scattering between nonequivalent K-K' valleys leads to a decay of bright excitons' hidden spin polarization. Conversely, the ultrafast formation of momentum-forbidden dark excitons acts as a local spin polarization reservoir, which could be used for spin injection in van der Waals heterostructures involving multilayer transition metal dichalcogenides