Fermi surface and electron correlation effects of ferromagnetic iron

Abstract

The electronic band structure of bulk ferromagnetic iron is explored by angle-resolved photoemission for electron correlation effects. Fermi surface cross sections as well as band maps are contrasted with density functional calculations. The Fermi vectors and band parameters obtained from photoemission and their prediction from band theory are analyzed in detail. Generally good agreement is found for the Fermi surface. A bandwidth reduction for shallow bands of $\ensuremath{\sim}30%$ is observed. Additional strong quasiparticle renormalization effects are found near the Fermi level, leading to a considerable mass enhancement. The role of electronic correlation effects and the electronic coupling to magnetic excitations is discussed in view of the experimental results.