Probing the local electronic structure in the H induced metal - insulator transition of Y

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Abstract
The occupied and unoccupied valence band states of yttrium (Y) metal, Y dihydride and Y trihydride were measured by soft x-ray emission and absorption spectroscopy. The experiments were complemented by first principles calculations. Both experiments and theory reveal the metallic character of Y and whereas exhibits a band gap, which was experimentally determined to be 2.5 eV. The results reveal strong hybridization between H and Y states, causing a breakdown of the rigid band model description.