Establishing coherent momentum-space electronic states in locally ordered materials

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Samuel T. Ciocys - , University of California at Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Author)
  • Quentin Marsal - , Université Grenoble Alpes, Uppsala University (Author)
  • Paul Corbae - , Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California at Berkeley (Author)
  • Daniel Varjas - , Stockholm University, Max-Planck-Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden, Würzburg-Dresden Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat (Author)
  • Ellis Kennedy - , University of California at Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Author)
  • Mary Scott - , University of California at Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Author)
  • Frances Hellman - , University of California at Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Author)
  • Adolfo G. Grushin - , Université Grenoble Alpes (Author)
  • Alessandra Lanzara - , University of California at Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Author)

Abstract

Rich momentum-dependent electronic structure naturally arises in solids with long-range crystalline symmetry. Reliable and scalable quantum technologies rely on materials that are either not perfect crystals or non-crystalline, breaking translational symmetry. This poses the fundamental questions of whether coherent momentum-dependent electronic states can arise without long-range order, and how they can be characterized. Here we investigate Bi2Se3, which exists in crystalline, nanocrystalline, and amorphous forms, allowing direct comparisons between varying degrees of spatial ordering. Through angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we show for the first time momentum-dependent band structure with Fermi surface repetitions in an amorphous solid. The experimental data is complemented by a model that accurately reproduces the vertical, dispersive features as well as the replication at higher momenta in the amorphous form. These results reveal that well-defined real-space length scales are sufficient to produce dispersive band structures, and that photoemission can expose the imprint of these length scales on the electronic structure.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number8141
JournalNature communications
Volume15
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2024
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 39289359