Angle-resolved photoemission studies of lattice polaron formation in the cuprate Ca2CuO2Cl2

To elucidate the nature of the single-particle excitations in the undoped parent cuprates, we have performed a detailed study of Ca2CuO2Cl2 using photoemission spectroscopy. The photoemission line shapes of the lower Hubbard band are found to be well-described by a polaron model. By comparing the line shape and temperature dependence of the lower Hubbard band with additional O 2p and Ca 3p states, we conclude that the dominant broadening mechanism arises from the interaction between the photohole and the lattice. The strength of this interaction was observed to be strongly anisotropic and may have important implications for the momentum dependence of the first doped hole states.