Electronic structure of PrCoO_3 and its temperature evolution

TL;DR

This study combines photoemission spectroscopy and ab initio calculations to explore the electronic structure and temperature-dependent behavior of PrCoO3, highlighting the roles of spin-orbit coupling and hybridization effects.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of the electronic structure of PrCoO3, emphasizing the impact of spin-orbit interaction and hybridization, and correlates temperature-induced changes with transport properties.

Findings

Spin-orbit interaction significantly influences electronic properties.

Pr 4f states strongly hybridize with O 2p and Co 3d states.

Band gap evolution aligns with transport measurements.

Abstract

We investigate the detailed electronic structure of PrCoO$_3$ and its temperature evolution using state-of-the-art photoemission spectroscopy and ab initio band structure calculations. We observe that in addition to the correlation effect, spin-orbit interaction plays an important role in determining the electronic properties of this system. Pr 4$f$ states are found to be strongly hybridized with the O 2$p$ and Co 3$d$ valence electronic states, and thus influences the electronic properties significantly. The calculated results corresponding to the intermediate spin state of Co provide a good description of the experimental spectra at 300 K. The decrease in temperature from 300 K leads to a gradual enhancement of the low spin state contributions in the electronic structure. The temperature evolution of the band gap is found to be consistent with the transport data.