Resonant inelastic x-ray scattering study of electronic excitations in insulating K${}_{0.83}$Fe${}_{1.53}$Se${}_2$

Abstract

We report an Fe $K$-edge resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) study of K${}_{0.83}$Fe${}_{1.53}$Se${}_2$. This material is an insulator, unlike many parent compounds of iron-based superconductors. We found a sharp excitation around 1 eV, which is resonantly enhanced when the incident photon energy is tuned near the pre-edge region of the absorption spectrum. The spectral weight and line shape of this excitation exhibit clear momentum dependence. In addition, we observe momentum-independent broad interband transitions at higher excitation energy of 3-7 eV. Calculations based on a 70 band $dp$ orbital model, using a moderate $U_{\mathrm{eff}}\approx 2.5$ eV, indicate that the $\sim$1 eV feature originates from the correlated Fe 3$d$ electrons, with a dominant $d_{xz}$ and $d_{yz}$ orbital character. We find that a moderate $U_{\mathrm{eff}}$ yields a satisfying agreement with the experimental spectra, suggesting that the electron correlations in the insulating and metallic iron based superconductors are comparable.

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