Soft and hard x-ray orbital-resolved photoemission study of a strongly correlated Cd-Ce quasicrystal approximant

TL;DR

This study uses soft and hard x-ray photoemission spectroscopy to analyze the orbital-dependent electronic states of the Cd6Ce quasicrystal approximant, revealing unique hybridization behavior of 4f orbitals.

Contribution

It uncovers anomalous hybridization of 4f orbitals far from the Fermi level, contrasting with typical intermetallic compounds, offering new insights into magnetic properties of Cd-based approximants.

Findings

4f orbitals are mainly hybridized with valence electrons far from EF

Contrasts with hybridization at EF in Ce-based intermetallics

Suggests new magnetic phenomena in Cd-based approximants

Abstract

We have investigated the orbital-dependent electronic states of Cd6Ce, a prototype of strongly correlated rare-earth-based Tsai-type quasicrystals and approximants (ACs) by soft and hard x-ray photoemission spectroscopy. Our results reveal that the 4f orbitals are predominantly hybridized with the valence-band electrons far from the Fermi level (EF), in sharp contrast to the hybridization with conduction electrons at EF seen for the intermetallic Ce-based compounds. This anomalous hybridization should be taken into account in discussing the unresolved magnetic ground state in Cd6Ce. These findings suggest that Cd-based ACs, some of which show the multi-step magnetic transitions, could provide a new platform for investigating novel magnetic properties that cannot be understood within the conventional framework of hybridization at EF.