Ultrafast Doublon Dynamics in Photoexcited 1T-TaS2

Strongly correlated materials exhibit intriguing properties caused by intertwined microscopic interactions that are hard to disentangle in equilibrium. Employing nonequilibrium time-resolved photoemission spectroscopy on the quasi-two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenide 1T-TaS2, we identify a spectroscopic signature of doubly occupied sites (doublons) that reflects fundamental Mott physics. Doublon-hole recombination is estimated to occur on timescales of electronic hopping h/J approximate to 14 fs. Despite strong electron-phonon coupling, the dynamics can be explained by purely electronic effects captured by the single-band Hubbard model under the assumption of weak hole doping, in agreement with our static sample characterization. This sensitive interplay of static doping and vicinity to the metal-insulator transition suggests a way to modify doublon relaxation on the few-femtosecond timescale.