Competing Electronic Configurations for PuTe and New Insight on Plutonium Metal

J. J. Joyce; K. S. Graham; J. -X. Zhu; G. H. Lander; H. Choi; T. Durakiewicz; J. M. Wills; P. H. Tobash; E. D. Bauer; J. N. Mitchell

arXiv · 1905.01732

Competing Electronic Configurations for PuTe and New Insight on Plutonium Metal

J. J. Joyce·K. S. Graham·J. -X. Zhu·G. H. Lander·H. Choi·T. Durakiewicz·J. M. Wills·P. H. Tobash·E. D. Bauer·J. N. Mitchell

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Abstract

The electronic structure of plutonium metal and its compounds pose a grand challenge for a fundamental understanding of the Pu-5$f$ electron character. For 30 years the plutonium chalcogenides have been especially challenging, and multiple theoretical scenarios have been proposed to explain their unusual behavior. We present extensive high-resolution photoemission data on a single crystal of PuTe, which has also been proposed as a topological insulator. The new experimental results on this mixed-valent material provide a constraint to the theoretical modeling and new dynamical mean-field theory calculations agree with the experimental results. Comparisons with Pu metal provide new insight in understanding its complex electronic structure.

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J. J. Joyce, K. S. Graham, J. -X. Zhu, G. H. Lander, H. Choi, T. Durakiewicz, J. M. Wills, P. H. Tobash, E. D. Bauer, J. N. Mitchell. 2019-05-05. Competing Electronic Configurations for PuTe and New Insight on Plutonium Metal. https://arxiv.org/abs/1905.01732

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