Ultrafast electronic linewidth broadening in the C 1s core level of graphene

We show that the presence of a transiently excited hot electron gas in graphene leads to a substantial broadening of the C 1s line probed by time-resolved x-ray photoemission spectroscopy. The broadening is found to be caused by an exchange of energy and momentum between the photoemitted core electron and the hot electron gas, rather than by vibrational excitations. This interpretation is supported by a quantitative line-shape analysis that accounts for the presence of the excited electrons. Fitting the spectra to this model directly yields the electronic temperature of the system, in good agreement with electronic temperature values obtained from valence band data. Furthermore, we show how the momentum change of the outgoing core electrons leads to a detectable but very small change in the time-resolved photoelectron diffraction pattern and to a nearly complete elimination of the core level binding energy variation associated with the presence of a narrow sigma band in the C is state.

Automated summary

The presence of a transiently excited hot electron gas in graphene results in a substantial broadening of the C 1s line, which is caused by an exchange of energy and momentum between the photoemitted core electron and the hot electron gas. Quantitative line-shape analysis yields the electronic temperature values consistent with those obtained from valence band data.