Laser angle-resolved photoemission as a probe of initial state kz dispersion, final-state band gaps, and spin texture of Dirac states in the Bi2Te3 topological insulator

Here, we have obtained angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES) spectra from single crystals of the topological insulator material Bi2Te3 using tunable laser spectrometer. The spectra were collected for eleven different photon energies ranging from 5.57 to 6.70 eV for incident light polarized linearly along two different in-plane directions. Parallel first-principles, fully relativistic computations of photo-intensities were carried out using the experimental geometry within the framework of the one-step model of photoemission. Good overall accord between theory and experiment is used to gain insight into how properties of the initial and final state band structures as well as those of the topological surface states and their spin-textures are reflected in the laser-ARPES spectra. In conclusion, our analysis reveals that laser-ARPES is sensitive to both the initial state kz dispersion and the presence of delicate gaps in the final state electronic spectrum.