|
|
|
Distinctive electron localization on the surface of two-dimensional antiferromagnetic metal PdCrO2 |
| Jing-Zhi Chen(陈景芝)1, Yu-Jing Ren(任宇靖)1, Peng-Hao Yuan(袁鹏浩)1, Li-Li Meng(孟丽丽)1, Yu Zhu(朱玉)1, Yi Ou(欧仪)1, and Yan Zhang(张焱)1,2,† |
1 International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China;
2 Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter, Beijing 100871, China |
|
|
|
|
Abstract Electron localization is a focal topic in condensed matter physics. In materials where electrons couple with lattice/spin degrees of freedom, an accurate characterization of electron localization would not only advance our understanding of correlated electron systems but also hold potential as a key to unraveling the long-standing puzzle of high-temperature superconductivity. Here, utilizing angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), we reveal an electron localization that occurs on the surface of a two-dimensional antiferromagnetic metal PdCrO$_2$. Various characteristics of electron localization were observed, including quasiparticle mass renormalization, the “waterfall” feature, high-energy incoherent states, and a pseudogap. We find that the energy scale of band renormalization is highly correlated with the mode coupling energy observed in the metallic state, suggesting that the localization behavior can be explained by polaron localization driven by an enhancement of the coupling between electrons and lattice/spin excitations. Our data highlight phenomena that emerge universally in complex correlated systems where electrons couple with lattice/spin excitations. This provides experimental validation for various theoretical models of delocalized correlated systems. Our results also demonstrate that the coupling strength can be tuned continuously on the surface of PdCrO$_2$, making it a model system for investigating exotic phenomena in complex correlated materials.
|
Received: 24 November 2025
Revised: 01 February 2026
Accepted manuscript online: 03 March 2026
|
|
PACS:
|
73.20.At
|
(Surface states, band structure, electron density of states)
|
| |
71.30.+h
|
(Metal-insulator transitions and other electronic transitions)
|
| |
79.60.-i
|
(Photoemission and photoelectron spectra)
|
|
| Fund: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 12474129) and the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2022YFA1403502). |
Corresponding Authors:
Yan Zhang
E-mail: yzhang85@pku.edu.cn
|
Cite this article:
Jing-Zhi Chen(陈景芝), Yu-Jing Ren(任宇靖), Peng-Hao Yuan(袁鹏浩), Li-Li Meng(孟丽丽), Yu Zhu(朱玉), Yi Ou(欧仪), and Yan Zhang(张焱) Distinctive electron localization on the surface of two-dimensional antiferromagnetic metal PdCrO2 2026 Chin. Phys. B 35 067302
|
[1] Imada M, Fujimori A and Tokura Y 1998 Rev. Mod. Phys. 70 1039
[2] Anderson P W 1958 Phys. Rev. 109 1492
[3] Mott N F 1949 Proc. Phys. Soc. A 62 416
[4] Damascelli A, Hussain Z and Shen Z X 2003 Rev. Mod. Phys. 75 473
[5] Anderson P W 1973 Mater. Res. Bull. 8 153
[6] Zaanen J and Gunnarsson O 1989 Phys. Rev. B 40 7391
[7] Schrieffer J R, Wen X G and Zhang S C 1988 Phys. Rev. Lett. 60 944
[8] Mott N F 1990 Adv. Phys. 39 55
[9] Hu C, Zhao J, Gao Q, Yan H, Rong H, Huang J, Liu J, Cai Y, Li C, Chen H, Zhao L, Liu G, Jin C, Xu Z, Xiang T and Zhou X J 2021 Nat. Commun. 12 1356
[10] Xu H C, Zhang Y, Xu M, Peng R, Shen X P, Strocov V N, Shi M, Kobayashi M, Schmitt T, Xie B P and Feng D L 2014 Phys. Rev. Lett. 112 087603
[11] Wang Y, He Y, Wohlfeld K, Hashimoto M, Huang E W, Lu D, Mo S K, Komiya S, Jia C, Moritz B, Shen Z X and Devereaux T P 2020 Commun. Phys. 3 210
[12] Mackenzie A P 2017 Rep. Prog. Phys. 80 032501
[13] Takatsu H and Maeno Y 2010 J. Cryst. Growth 312 3461
[14] Takatsu H, Yoshizawa H, Yonezawa S and Maeno Y 2009 Phys. Rev. B 79 104424
[15] Lechermann F 2018 Phys. Rev. Mater. 2 085004
[16] Lechermann F 2021 Npj Comput. Mater. 7 120
[17] Takatsu H, Nenert G, Kadowaki H, Yoshizawa H, Enderle M, Yonezawa S, Maeno Y, Kim J, Tsuji N, Takata M, Zhao Y, Green M and Broholm C 2014 Phys. Rev. B 89 104408
[18] Le M D, Jeon S, Kolesnikov A I, Voneshen D J, Gibbs A S, Kim J S, Jeong J, Noh H J, Park C, Yu J, Perring T G and Park J G 2018 Phys. Rev. B 98 024429
[19] Sun D, Sokolov D A, Bartlett J M, Sannigrahi J, Khim S, Kushwaha P, Khalyavin D D, Manuel P, Gibbs A S, Takagi H, Mackenzie A P and Hicks C W 2019 Phys. Rev. B 100 094414
[20] Jeon H, Seo H, Seo J, Kim Y H, Choi E S, Jo Y, Lee H N, Ok J M and Kim J S 2024 Commun. Phys. 7 162
[21] Sobota J A, Kim K, Takatsu H, Hashimoto M, Mo S K, Hussain Z, Oguchi T, Shishidou T, Maeno Y, Min B I and Shen Z X 2013 Phys. Rev. B 88 125109
[22] Sunko V, Mazzola F, Kitamura S, Khim S, Kushwaha P, Clark O J, Watson M D, Markovic I, Biswas D, Pourovskii L, Kim T K, Lee T L, Thakur P K, Rosner H, Georges A, Moessner R, Oka T, Mackenzie A P and King P D C 2020 Sci. Adv. 6 eaaz0611
[23] Lechermann F and Richter R 2020 Phys. Rev. Res. 2 013352
[24] Noh H J, Jeong J, Jeong J, Cho E J, Kim S B, Kim K, Min B I and Kim H D 2009 Phys. Rev. Lett. 102 256404
[25] Mazzola F, Sunko V, Khim S, Rosner H, Kushwaha P, Clark O J, Bawden L, Markovic I, Kim T K, Hoesch M, Mackenzie A P and King P D C 2018 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 115 12956
[26] Mazzola F, Yim C M, Sunko V, Khim S, Kushwaha P, Clark O J, Bawden L, Markovic I, Chakraborti D, Kim T K, Hoesch M, Mackenzie A P, Wahl P and King P D C 2022 npj Quantum Mater. 7 20
[27] Sun Z P, Liu Z H, Liu Z T, Liu W L, Zhang F Y, Shen D W, Ye M and Qiao S 2020 J Synchrotron Rad. 27 1388
[28] Wen C, Qin T, Zhang X, Zhang M, Hu W, Shen S, Yang Z, Qi Y, Li G and Yan S 2023 Phys. Rev. Lett. 131 116501
[29] Yim C M, Siemann G R, Stavric S, Khim S, Benedicic I, Murgatroyd P A E, Antonelli T, Watson M D, Mackenzie A P, Picozzi S, King P D C and Wahl P 2024 Nat. Commun. 15 8098
[30] Kim K, Choi H C and Min B I 2009 Phys. Rev. B 80 035116
[31] He Y, Wang Y and Shen Z X 2017 Rev. Sci. Instrum. 88 073903
[32] Graf J, Gweon G H and Lanzara A 2007 Physica C 460–462 194
[33] Bacq-Labreuil B, Fawaz C, Okazaki Y, Obata Y, Cercellier H, Le Fevre P, Bertran F, Santos-Cottin D, Yamamoto H, Yamada I, Azuma M, Horiba K, Kumigashira H, d’Astuto M, Biermann S and Lenz B 2025 Phys. Rev. Lett. 134 016502
[34] Norman M R, Ding H, Randeria M, Campuzano J C, Yokoya T, Takeuchi T, Takahashi T, Mochiku T, Kadowaki K, Guptasarma P and Hinks D G 1998 Nature 392 157
[35] Ryu S H, Huh M, Park D Y, Jozwiak C, Rotenberg E, Bostwick A and Kim K S 2021 Nature 596 68
[36] Chen C, Avila J, Frantzeskakis E, Levy A and Asensio M C 2015 Nat. Commun. 6 8585
[37] Han T T, Chen L, Cai C, Wang Z G, Wang Y D, Xin Z M and Zhang Y 2021 Phys. Rev. Lett. 126 106602
[38] Gunnarsson O and Rosch O 2008 J. Phys.: Condens. Matter. 20 043201
[39] Li G, Kobayashi H, Taylor J M, Ikeda R, Kubota Y, Kato K, Takata M, Yamamoto T, Toh S, Matsumura S and Kitagawa H 2014 Nat. Mater. 13 802
[40] Reticcioli M, Sokolovic I, Schmid M, Diebold U, Setvin M and Fran- chini C 2019 Phys. Rev. Lett. 122 016805
[41] Yim C M, Zheng Y, Armitage O R, Chakraborti D, Wells C J, Khim S, Mackenzie A P and Wahl P 2025 Commun. Mater. 6 128
[42] Song Q, He Z, Faeth B D, Parzyck C T, Scheid A, Mowers C J, Feng Y, Xu Q, Hasko S, Park J, Barone M R, Suyolcu Y E, van Aken P A, Pamuk B, Fennie C J, King P D C, Shen K M and Schlom D G 2024 APL Mater. 12 081117
[43] Bronold F X and Fehske H 2002 Phys. Rev. B 66 073102 |
| No Suggested Reading articles found! |
|
|
Viewed |
|
|
|
Full text
|
|
|
|
|
Abstract
|
|
|
|
|
Cited |
|
|
|
|
Altmetric
|
|
blogs
Facebook pages
Wikipedia page
Google+ users
|
Online attention
Altmetric calculates a score based on the online attention an article receives. Each coloured thread in the circle represents a different type of online attention. The number in the centre is the Altmetric score. Social media and mainstream news media are the main sources that calculate the score. Reference managers such as Mendeley are also tracked but do not contribute to the score. Older articles often score higher because they have had more time to get noticed. To account for this, Altmetric has included the context data for other articles of a similar age.
View more on Altmetrics
|
|
|
