Abstract
The absorption of a photon and the emission of an electron is not a simple, two-particle process. The complicated many-electron features observed during core photoionization can therefore reveal many of the hidden secrets about the ground and excited-state electronic structures of a material. Careful analysis of the photon-energy dependence of the Ni KLL Auger deexcitation spectra at and above the Ni photoionization threshold has identified the satellite structure that appears in both the photoelectron emission and the x-ray absorption spectra of NiO as Ni metal metal and O ligand metal charge-transfer excitations, respectively. These assignments elucidate the conflicting theoretical predictions of the last five decades in addition to other anomalous effects in the spectroscopy of this unique material.
- Received 9 February 2018
- Revised 15 April 2018
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.97.245142
Published by the American Physical Society