Search

We present detailed studies of the high-field magnetoresistance of the layered organic metal $\kappa$-(BETS)$_2$\-Mn\-[N(CN)$_2$]$_3$ under a pressure slightly above the insulator-metal transition. The experimental data are analysed in terms of the Fermi surface properties and compared with the results of first-principles band structure calculations. The calculated size and shape of the inplane Fermi surface are in very good agreement with those derived from Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations as well as the classical angle-dependent magnetoresistance oscillations. A comparison of the experimentally obtained effective cyclotron masses with the calculated band masses reveals electron correlations significantly dependent on the electron momentum. The momentum- or band-dependent mobility is also reflected in the behavior of the classical magnetoresistance anisotropy in a magnetic field parallel to layers. Other characteristics of the conducting system related to interlayer charge transfer and scattering mechanisms are discussed based on the experimental data. Besides the known high-field effects associated with the Fermi surface geometry, new pronounced features have been found in the angle-dependent magnetoresistance, which might be caused by coupling of the metallic charge transport to a magnetic instability in proximity to the metal-insulator phase boundary., Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures

Analysis of the band structure of TiS$_3$ single-layers suggests the possibility of changing their physical behaviour by injecting electron carriers. The anisotropy of the valence and conduction bands is explained in terms of their complex orbital composition. The nature of the Fermi surface and Lindhard response function for different doping concentrations is studied by means of first-principles DFT calculations. It is suggested that for electron doping levels $x$ (number of electrons per unit cell) $\sim$ 0.18-0.30$e^-$ the system could exhibit incommensurate charge or spin modulations which, however, would keep the metallic state whereas systems doped with smaller $x$ would be 2D metals without any electronic instability. The effect of spin-orbit coupling in the band dispersion is analysed. The DFT effective masses are used to study the plasmon spectrum from an effective low energy model. We find that this material supports highly anisotropic plasmons, with opposite anisotropy for the electron and hole bands., Comment: Accepted for publication in 2D Materials

A new metallic radical cation salt $\kappa$-(BETS)$_2$Co$_{0.13}$Mn$_{0.87}$[N(CN)$_2$]$_3$, where BETS is bis(ethylenedithio)tetraselenafulvalene, C$_{10}$S$_4$Se$_4$H$_8$, has been synthesized. In this salt, a part of Mn$^{2+}$ ions are replaced by Co$^{2+}$ which acts as a magnetic dopant with a different effective magnetic moment. Crystal structure, band structure, conducting and magnetic properties of the salt have been studied. Below 30 K the material undergoes a metal-insulator transition, which is suppressed by applying a pressure of ~0.5kbar, leading to a superconducting ground state. While the structural and conducting properties are very similar to those of the parent salt $\kappa$-(BETS)$_2$Mn[N(CN)$_2$]$_3$, magnetic properties associated with localized moments in the anion layer are found to be surprisingly different., Comment: 16 pages, 3 tables, 11 figures

Materials where the electron filling is close to commensurate filling provide one of the great challenges in materials science. Several proposals of unconventional orderings, where the electronic liquid self-organizes into components with distinct properties, were recently put forward, in particular in cuprates and pnictides where electronic nematic orders have been observed. The electrons self-organization is expected to yield complex intra and inter unit cell patterns, and a reduction of dimensionality. Nevertheless, an unambiguous experimental proof of such complex orders, namely the direct observation of distinct dispersions, is still missing. Here we report a Nano Angle Resolved Photo-emission Spectroscopy (Nano-ARPES) study of NbSe$_3$, a material that has been considered a paradigm of charge order. The new data (Fig.1) invalidate the canonical picture of imperfect nesting and reveals the emergence of a novel order. The electrons self-organization uncovers the one-dimensional (1D) physics hidden in a material which naively should be the most 3D of all columnar chalcogenides., Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures; Supplementary Material (14 pages) available upon request

A density functional theory study of NbSe$_2$ single-layers in the normal non-modulated and the $3\times3$ CDW states is reported. We show that, in the single layer, the CDW barely affects the Fermi surface of the system, thus ruling out a nesting mechanism as the driving force for the modulation. The CDW stabilizes levels lying around 1.5 eV below the Fermi level within the Se-based valence band but having a substantial Nb-Nb bonding character. The absence of interlayer interactions leads to the suppression of the pancake-like portion of the bulk Fermi surface in the single-layer. We perform scanning tunneling microscopy simulations and find that the images noticeably change with the sign and magnitude of the voltage bias. The atomic corrugation of the Se sublayer induced by the modulation plays a primary role in leading to these images, but the electronic reorganization also has an important contribution. The analysis of the variation of these images with the bias voltage does not support a Fermi surface nesting mechanism for the CDW. It is also shown that underlying graphene layers (present in some of the recent experimental work) do not modify the conduction band, but do affect the shape of the valence band of NbSe$_2$ single-layers. The relevance of these results in understanding recent physical measurements for NbSe$_2$ single-layers is discussed.

The experimental STM images for the CDW phase of the blue bronze RbMoO3 have been successfully explained on the basis of first-principles DFT calculations. Although the density of states near the Fermi level strongly concentrates in two of the three types of Mo atoms Mo-II and Mo-III, the STM measurement mostly probes the contribution of the uppermost O atoms of the surface, associated with the Mo-IO6 octahedra. In addition, it is found that the surface concentration of Rb atoms plays a key role in determining the surface nesting vector and hence the periodicity of the CDW modulation. Significant experimental inhomogeneities of the b* surface component of the wavevector of the modulation, probed by STM, are reported. The calculated changes in the surface nesting vector are consistent with the observed experimental inhomogeneities., Comment: 4 pages 5 Figures

The electronic band structure of GaTe has been calculated by numerical atomic orbitals density-functional theory, in the local density approximation. In addition, the valence-band dispersion along various directions of the GaTe Brillouin zone has been determined experimentally by angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy. Along these directions, the calculated valence-band structure is in good concordance with the valence-band dispersion obtained by these measurements. It has been established that GaTe is a direct-gap semiconductor with the band gap located at the Z point, that is, at Brillouin zone border in the direction perpendicular to the layers. The valence-band maximum shows a marked \textit{p}-like behavior, with a pronounced anion contribution. The conduction band minimum arises from states with a comparable \textit{s}- \textit{p}-cation and \textit{p}-anion orbital contribution. Spin-orbit interaction appears to specially alter dispersion and binding energy of states of the topmost valence bands lying at $\Gamma$. By spin-orbit, it is favored hybridization of the topmost \textit{p}$_z$-valence band with deeper and flatter \textit{p$_x$}-\textit{p$_y$} bands and the valence-band minimum at $\Gamma$ is raised towards the Fermi level since it appears to be determined by the shifted up \textit{p$_x$}-\textit{p$_y$} bands., Comment: 7 text pages, 6 eps figures, submitted to PRB