Abstract
High momentum resolution angle resolved photoemission spectra from the Au(111) -derived surface state exhibit a doublet. The separation between the peaks increases linearly with , and reaches a maximum of 110 meV at , when one of the bands crosses the Fermi level. These results are interpreted as spin-split surface state bands, with the spins aligned in the plane of the surface perpendicular to the electronic momentum. The origin of the splitting is spin-orbit coupling, which can break spin degeneracy in systems which lack inversion symmetry.
- Received 19 July 1996
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.77.3419
©1996 American Physical Society