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We discuss hydrides of actinide metals as solids combining the lightest and heaviest elements of the periodic table. We review historical developments of the field since 1940’s, but the focus is on our own research that establishes a comprehensive framework for understanding changes of the electronic structure, and of the magnetic and spectroscopic properties induced by embedding hydrogen into the crystal lattice, which yields a volume expansion and a charge transfer between the parent metal and hydrogen atoms.
Description
Photoelectron spectra of uranium hydride (UH3): the experimental data obtained at different photon energies (UPS at 40.8 eV and XPS at 1486.6 eV) are compared with theoretical calculations (the experimental spectra are vertically offset for clarity). These measurements and their detailed interpretation helps to quantify the effects of the electron-electron correlations which are responsible also for the ferromagnetism of the hydride.
Contact person: Jindřich Kolorenč