Laser-induced fine structures on silicon exposed to THz-FEL

We found the irradiation of focused linearly polarized terahertz (THz)-waves emitted from THz free-electron laser (THz-FEL) engraved fine periodic stripe structures on the surfaces of single-crystal Si wafers. The experiments were performed at several wavelengths ranging from 50 to 82 μm with a macro-pulse fluence up to 32 J/cm2. The engraved structures are considered equivalent to the laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) produced by the irradiation of a femtosecond (fs)-pulsed laser in the near-infrared (NIR) region. However, the minimum period of ∼1/25 of the wavelength in the present case of THz-FEL is surely much smaller than those reported so far by use of fs-lasers and no more explicable by the so far proposed mechanisms. The finer LIPSS confirmed by longer-wavelength laser excitation by means of THz-FEL motivates investigation into the universal mechanism of LIPSS formation, which has been under a hot debate for decades

Theory of RIXS in strongly correlated electron systems: Mott gap excitations in cuprates

We theoretically examine the momentum dependence of resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) spectrum for one-dimensional and two-dimensional cuprates based on the single-band Hubbard model with realistic parameter values. The spectrum is calculated by using the numerical diagonalization technique for finite-size clusters. We focus on excitations across the Mott gap and clarify spectral features coming from the excitations as well as the physics behind them. Good agreement between the theoretical and existing experimental results clearly demonstrates that the RIXS is a potential tool to study the momentum-dependent charge excitations in strongly correlated electron systems.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, Proceedings of 5th International Conference on Inelastic X-ray Scattering (IXS 2004

Prominent 5d-orbital contribution to the conduction electrons in gold

We have examined the valence-band electronic structures of gold and silver in the same column in the periodic table with nominally filled d orbitals by means of a recently developed polarization-dependent hard x-ray photoemission. Contrary to a common expectation, it is found that the 5d-orbital electrons contribute prominently to the conduction electrons in gold while the conduction electrons in silver are to some extent free-electron-like with negligible 4d contribution, which could be related to a well-known fact that gold is more stable than silver in air. The 4d electron correlation effects are found to be essential for the conduction electron character in silver.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, to be appeared in New J. Phys