Evolution of spectral function in a doped Mott insulator: surface vs bulk contributions

Abstract

We study the evolution of the spectral function with progressive hole doping in a Mott insulator, La_1−xCa_xVO₃ with x=0.0-0.5. The spectral features indicate a bulk-to-surface metal-insulator transition in this system. Doping dependent changes in the bulk electronic structure are shown to be incompatible with existing theoretical predictions. An empirical description based on the single parameter U/W is shown to describe consistently the spectral evolution.