Band dispersion in the deep 1s core level of graphene

TL;DR

This paper reports the observation of band formation and significant dispersion in the deep 1s core level of graphene, revealing unexpected core-level interactions despite high binding energies.

Contribution

It demonstrates the existence of band dispersion in core levels of graphene, a phenomenon not previously observed at such high binding energies.

Findings

Core level dispersion up to 60 meV observed

Interference effects influence observed states

Core electrons show band formation in graphene

Abstract

Chemical bonding in molecules and solids arises from the overlap of valence electron wave functions, forming extended molecular orbitals and dispersing Bloch states, respectively. Core electrons with high binding energies, on the other hand, are localized to their respective atoms and their wave functions do not overlap significantly. Here we report the observation of band formation and considerable dispersion (up to 60 meV) in the $1s$ core level of the carbon atoms forming graphene, despite the high C $1s$ binding energy of $\approx$ 284 eV. Due to a Young's double slit-like interference effect, a situation arises in which only the bonding or only the anti-bonding states is observed for a given photoemission geometry.