ARPES view of orbitally resolved quasiparticle lifetimes in iron pnictides

We study with ARPES the renormalization and quasiparticle lifetimes of the $d_{xy}$ and $d_{xz}$/$d_{yz}$ orbitals in two iron pnictides, LiFeAs and Ba(Fe$_{0.92}$Co$_{0.08}$)$_2$As$_2$ (Co8). We find that both quantities depend on orbital character rather than on the position on the Fermi Surface (for example hole or electron pocket). In LiFeAs, the renormalizations are larger for $d_{xy}$, while they are similar on both types of orbitals in Co8. The most salient feature, which proved robust against all the ARPES caveats we could think of, is that the lifetimes for $d_{xy}$ exhibit a markedly different behavior than those for $d_{xz}$/$d_{yz}$. They have smaller values near $E_F$ and exhibit larger $\omega$ and temperature dependences. While the behavior of $d_{xy}$ is compatible with a Fermi liquid description, it is not the case for $d_{xz}$/$d_{yz}$. This situation should have important consequences for the physics of iron pnictides, which have not been considered up to now. More generally, it raises interesting questions on how a Fermi liquid regime can be established in a multiband system with small effective bandwidths

Evolution of the spectral lineshape at the magnetic transition in Sr2IrO4 and Sr3Ir2O7

Sr2IrO4 and Sr3Ir2O7 form two families of spin-orbit Mott insulators with quite different charge gaps and an antiferromagnetic (AF) ground state. This offers a unique opportunity to study the impact of long-range magnetic order in Mott insulators. It appears to play a different role in the two families, as there is almost no change of the resistivity at the magnetic transition TN in Sr2IrO4 and a large one in Sr3Ir2O7. We use angle-resolved photoemission to study the evolution of the spectral lineshape through the magnetic transition. We use Ru and La substitutions to tune TN and discriminate changes due to temperature from those due to magnetic order. We evidence a shift and a transfer of spectral weight in the gap at TN in Sr3Ir2O7, which is absent in Sr2IrO4. We assign this behavior to a significantly larger coherent contribution to the spectral lineshape in Sr3Ir2O7, which evolves strongly at TN. On the contrary, the Sr2IrO4 lineshape is dominated by the incoherent part, which is insensitive to TN. We compare these findings to theoretical expections of the Slater vs Mott antiferromagnetism within Dynamical Mean Field Theory

Intrinsic defects and mid-gap states in quasi-one-dimensional Indium Telluride

Recently, intriguing physical properties have been unraveled in anisotropic semiconductors, in which the in-plane electronic band structure anisotropy often originates from the low crystallographic symmetry. The atomic chain is the ultimate limit in material downscaling for electronics, a frontier for establishing an entirely new field of one-dimensional quantum materials. Electronic and structural properties of chain-like InTe are essential for better understanding of device applications such as thermoelectrics. Here, we use scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS) measurements and density functional theory (DFT) calculations to directly image the in-plane structural anisotropy in tetragonal Indium Telluride (InTe). As results, we report the direct observation of one-dimensional In1+ chains in InTe. We demonstrate that InTe exhibits a band gap of about 0.40 +-0.02 eV located at the M point of the Brillouin zone. Additionally, line defects are observed in our sample, were attributed to In1+ chain vacancy along the c-axis, a general feature in many other TlSe-like compounds. Our STS and DFT results prove that the presence of In1+ induces localized gap state, located near the valence band maximum (VBM). This acceptor state is responsible for the high intrinsic p-type doping of InTe that we also confirm using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy.Comment: n

Van der Waals epitaxy of two-dimensional single-layer h-BN on graphite by molecular beam epitaxy: electronic properties and band structure

We report on the controlled growth of h-BN/graphite by means of molecular beam epitaxy. X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy suggests the presence of an interface without any reaction or intermixing, while the angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) measurements show that the h-BN layers are epitaxially aligned with graphite. A well-defined band structure is revealed by ARPES measurements, reflecting the high quality of the h-BN films. The measured valence band maximum located at 2.8 eV below the Fermi level reveals the presence of undoped h-BN films (band gap 6 eV). These results demonstrate that, although only weak van der Waals interactionsare present between h-BN and graphite, a long range ordering of h-BN can be obtained even on polycrystalline graphite via van der Waals epitaxy, offering the prospect of large area, single layer h-BN

The XXL survey: XLVI. Forward cosmological analysis of the C1 cluster sample

We present the forward cosmological analysis of an $XMM$ selected sample of galaxy clusters out to a redshift of unity. Following our previous 2018 study based on the dn/dz quantity alone, we perform an upgraded cosmological analysis of the same XXL C1 cluster catalogue (178 objects), with a detailed account of the systematic errors. We follow the ASpiX methodology: the distribution of the observed X-ray properties of the cluster population is analysed in a 3D observable space (count rate, hardness ratio, redshift) and modelled as a function of cosmology. Compared to more traditional methods, ASpiX allows the inclusion of clusters down to a few tens of photons. We obtain an improvement by a factor of 2 compared to the previous analysis by letting the normalisation of the M-T relation and the evolution of the L-T relation free. Adding constraints from the XXL cluster 2-point correlation function and the BAO from various surveys decreases the uncertainties by 23 and 53 % respectively, and 62% when adding both. Switching to the scaling relations from the Subaru analysis, and letting free more parameters, our final constraints are $\sigma_8$ = $0.99^{+0.14}_{-0.23}$, $\Omega_m$ = 0.296 $\pm$ 0.034 ($S_8 = 0.98^{+0.11}_{-0.21}$) for the XXL sample alone. Finally, we combine XXL ASpiX, the XXL cluster 2-point correlation function and the BAO, with 11 free parameters, allowing for the cosmological dependence of the scaling relations in the fit. We find $\sigma_8$ = $0.793^{+0.063}_{-0.12}$, $\Omega_m$ = 0.364 $\pm$ 0.015 ($S_8 = 0.872^{+0.068}_{-0.12}$), but still compatible with Planck CMB at 2.2$\sigma$. The results obtained by the ASpiX method are promising; further improvement is expected from the final XXL cosmological analysis involving a cluster sample twice as large. Such a study paves the way for the analysis of the eROSITA and future Athena surveys.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in A&A, A&A version has the unabridged abstrac

The Staphylococcus aureus superantigen SElX is a bifunctional toxin that inhibits neutrophil function:SElX Inhibits Neutrophil Function

Bacterial superantigens (SAgs) cause Vβ-dependent T-cell proliferation leading to immune dysregulation associated with the pathogenesis of life-threatening infections such as toxic shock syndrome, and necrotizing pneumonia. Previously, we demonstrated that staphylococcal enterotoxin-like toxin X (SElX) from Staphylococcus aureus is a classical superantigen that exhibits T-cell activation in a Vβ-specific manner, and contributes to the pathogenesis of necrotizing pneumonia. Here, we discovered that SElX can also bind to neutrophils from human and other mammalian species and disrupt IgG-mediated phagocytosis. Site-directed mutagenesis of the conserved sialic acid-binding motif of SElX abolished neutrophil binding and phagocytic killing, and revealed multiple glycosylated neutrophil receptors for SElX binding. Furthermore, the neutrophil binding-deficient mutant of SElX retained its capacity for T-cell activation demonstrating that SElX exhibits mechanistically independent activities on distinct cell populations associated with acquired and innate immunity, respectively. Finally, we demonstrated that the neutrophil-binding activity rather than superantigenicity is responsible for the SElX-dependent virulence observed in a necrotizing pneumonia rabbit model of infection. Taken together, we report the first example of a SAg, that can manipulate both the innate and adaptive arms of the human immune system during S. aureus pathogenesis

Dichroïsme magnétique et spectroscopies X résonantes (Des spectroscopies fines pour l'étude des propriétés magnétiques et de la structure électronique des solides)

Les propriétés physiques des matériaux, comme le magnétisme, la conductivité ou la réactivité sont dues aux électrons peuplant les niveaux les plus externes. Des techniques expérimentales basées sur l'interaction rayonnement-matière comme la spectroscopie de photoélectrons, la spectroscopie d'absorption X, ou le dichroïsme magnétique des rayons X sont des outils puissants pour étudier et comprendre les comportements des électrons de ces orbitales.La première partie de cette thèse porte sur l'étude de systèmes à base samarium, cet élément présentant des propriétés magnétiques atypiques dans la série des terres rares: les moments de spin et d'orbite se compensent donnant ainsi un moment magnétique total de l'atome faible. Deux études portant sur des systèmes à base de samarium et illustrant les capacités du dichroïsme magnétique pour sonder les propriétés magnétiques des matériaux sont présentées dans cette thèse. Une étude en XMLD a donné la valeur du moment magnétique dans un film mince de samarium métallique antiferromagnétique. Puis, une étude de XMCD sur le système Sm1-xGdxAl2 aux seuils L2,3 du Sm et du Gd, a permis d'expliquer l'origine du point de compensation observé dans les mesures d'aimantation.Dans une seconde partie, nous avons étudié la structure électronique d'oxydes par spectroscopies résonantes. Des mesures d'Auger résonant nous ont permis de localiser et de quantifier des transitions quadripolaires 1s?3d au seuil K du titane dans TiO2, grâce à des raies spectatrices apparaissant dans les spectres Auger résonant. Les spectroscopies résonantes, appuyées par des mesures de coïncidences électrons Auger-photoélectrons 2p du titane nous à permis de relier la forme de raie Auger L2,3M2,3V du titane à la stoechiométrie du composé. Ces désexcitations, impliquant la bande de valence, sont très sensibles au degré d'oxydation du titane, et sont très utiles à la caractérisation des surfaces d'oxydes de titane ou de films minces déposés sur ces surfaces.The physical properties of materials like magnetism, electric conductivity or reactivity are due to the outtermost electrons of atoms. Experimental techniques, based on the interaction between photons and matter like X-ray Photoelectrons Spectroscopy, X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy, or X-ray Magnetic Dichroism are powerful tools to study and to understand the behavior of such electrons.In the first part of this thesis, rare earths compounds have been studied. The 4f electrons of these elements, which generaly carry a strong magnetic moment, confer to these compounds original magnetic properties which are useful for various technological applications. In the rare earths series, the samarium presents atypical magnetic properties and seems to be an exception: the spin momentum makes up for the orbital momentum, which results in a weak total atomic magnetic momentum. Two studies concerning samarium compounds illustrating the capacities of the magnetic dichroism to probe magnetic properties of materials are presented in this thesis. A linear magnetic dichroism study gave the value of the magnetic moment of samarium in an antiferromagnetic thin film of metallic samarium. A magnetic circular dichroism study on the Sm1-xGdxAl2 (x=0, 1, 0.025) system, at the samarium and gadolinium L2,3 edges, also allowed to explain the origin of the compensation point, where the magnetization cancels, observed in the temperature dependent magnetization measurements. In the second part of this thesis, we have investigated the electronic structure of oxides using resonant spectroscopies. Resonant spectroscopies consist in measuring photoemission or decay processes (fluorescence or Auger) for photons energies around an absorption threshold. Resonant Auger measurements allowed us to locate and to quantify 1s?3d quadrupolar transitions at the titanium K-edge in TiO2, thanks to the analysis of intensity of spectator lines which appear in the resonant Auger spectra and are due to the additional 3d electron. Resonant spectroscopies also allowed us to understand the titanium L2,3M2,3V Auger decays lineshape in various oxides. These decays, which involve the valence band, are very sensitive to the titanium degree of oxidation, and are very useful for the characterisation of titanium oxides surfaces, or of thin films deposited on these surfaces. The resonant study of the Auger spectra and of the valence band, completed by Auger electrons-titanium 2p photoelectrons coincidences measurements, allowed us to link the Auger lineshape and the degree of oxidation of titanium.STRASBOURG-Sc. et Techniques (674822102) / SudocSudocFranceF

Band hybridization at the semimetal-semiconductor transition of Ta2NiSe5 enabled by mirror-symmetry breaking

Funding: The Leverhulme Trust and The Royal Society.We present a combined study from angle-resolved photoemission and density-functional-theory calculations of the temperature-dependent electronic structure in the excitonic insulator candidate Ta2NiSe5. Our experimental measurements unambiguously establish the normal state as a semimetal with a significant band overlap of >100 meV. Our temperature-dependent measurements indicate how these low-energy states hybridize when cooling through the well-known 327 K phase transition in this system. From our calculations and polarization-dependent photoemission measurements, we demonstrate the importance of a loss of mirror symmetry in enabling the band hybridization, driven by a shearlike structural distortion which reduces the crystal symmetry from orthorhombic to monoclinic. Our results thus point to the key role of the lattice distortion in enabling the phase transition of Ta2NiSe5.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Orbital dependent Rashba splitting and electron-phonon coupling of 2D Bi phase on Cu(100) surface

A monolayer of bismuth deposited on the Cu(100) surface forms a highly ordered c(2x2) reconstructed phase. The low energy single particle excitations of the c(2x2) Bi/Cu(100) present Bi-induced states with a parabolic dispersion in the energy region close to the Fermi level, as observed by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. The electronic state dispersion, the charge density localization, and the spin-orbit coupling have been investigated combining photoemission spectroscopy and density functional theory, unraveling a two-dimensional Bi phase with charge density well localized at the interface. The Bi-induced states present a Rashba splitting, when the charge density is strongly localized in the Bi plane. Furthermore, the temperature dependence of the spectral density close to the Fermi level has been evaluated. Dispersive electronic states offer a large number of decay channels for transitions coupled to phonons and the strength of the electron-phonon coupling for the Bi/Cu(100) system is shown to be stronger than for Bi surfaces and to depend on the electronic state symmetry and localization. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC