Dual nature of the 5f electrons in plutonium materials

• The electronic structure of select Pu materials is examined by means of photoemission (PES) and model calculations. We present the first photoemission results and electronic structure calculations for the material PuIn3. Results for Pu materials, including the cubic delta-phase metal and the superconductor PuCoGa5, give indication of the 5f electrons exhibiting both localized and itinerant character. These new results for PuIn3 place this compounds also in the 5f dual nature category. The dual nature of the Pu 5f electrons demarks the boundary between localized and itinerant 5f character in the actinides. The photoemission data for delta-Pu, PuIn3 and PuCoGa5 are compared against model calculations. The calculations are a mixed level model (MLM) which is a multi-electron extension of the generalized gradient approximation. Using the MLM, one obtains good agreement for the volume and total energy minimum with 4 of 5 Pu 5f electrons localized. The calculations also agree well with the PES spectra. Other computational schemes and interpretations are also reviewed.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik -- Den kondenserade materiens fysik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences -- Condensed Matter Physics (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

photoemission

dual nature

electronic structure

plutonium

delta-plutonium

photoelectron-spectroscopy

pu

photoemission

superconductivity

pucoga5

configuration

localization

layers

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