Observation of a Novel Orbital Selective Mott Transition in Ca1.8Sr0.2RuO4

We observed a novel orbital selective Mott transition in Ca1.8Sr0.2RuO4 by angle-resolved photoemission. While two sets of dispersing bands and the Fermi surface associated with the doubly degenerate dyz and dzx orbitals are identified, the Fermi surface associated with the wider dxy band is missing as a consequence of selective Mott localization. Our theoretical calculations demonstrate that this orbital selective Mott transition is mainly driven by the combined effects of interorbital carrier transfer, superlattice potential, and orbital degeneracy, whereas the bandwidth difference plays a less important role. © 2009 The American Physical Society.