Three-Dimensional Dispersive Excitons in Metallic TbNiC2

Three-Dimensional Dispersive Excitons in Metallic TbNiC2 | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Physical Sciences - Article Three-Dimensional Dispersive Excitons in Metallic TbNiC 2 Junzhang Ma, Zihan Lin, Tian Shang, Siyan Liu, Xingkai Cheng, and 14 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9048389/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Excitons in semiconductors with negligible group velocity have been extensively investigated using optical methodologies. However, one significant characteristic of excitons for information transmission applications is their mobility, which poses a challenge in band-gapped systems. Meanwhile, three-dimensional dispersive excitons formed with electrons in a partially occupied conduction band are rare due to electron screening effect, excitonic instability, and the technical challenge of realizing them. Here, using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and theoretical simulation, we observed dispersive excitonic bound states that are manifested as replica valence bands across a large portion of the three-dimensional Brillouin in the metallic material TbNiC2. Furthermore, our research indicates that the excitonic bound states are promoted by low density of states of free charges induced by electron-phonon coupling, and the resonance between topological surface and bulk states. Our findings provide a new thread to generate and stabilize three dimensional dispersive excitons in metals, which paves the way for the exploration of novel materials potentially suitable as metallic optoelectronic media which could conduct both electronic and excitonic signals simultaneously. Physical sciences/Physics/Condensed-matter physics Physical sciences/Physics/Condensed-matter physics/Electronic properties and materials Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SupplementaryMaterials.docx Supplementary Materials Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9048389","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Physical Sciences - Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":609345643,"identity":"d25d0879-24a7-4588-8630-62aedb7d90ad","order_by":0,"name":"Junzhang Ma","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA6klEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACxgYGBmYQgx/MBIEDDGwwJn4tkg2MjQ1EaQEBsBaDAzBrCGlhnpF7+HNBzTZ54+OH2x/ztjHI8d1IYHs4A5/DZuQlGM84dttw25nExmagFmPJGwnshhvwaskxSOZhu8247QYjWEviBqAtkg8IaDnM8++2/eYZEC31xGgxBKq8nbhBAqIlwQCkBa/Det4YM/P23U6eAfTLzDnnJAxnnnnYJonP+4btOcafeb7dtu1vP/7gw5syG3m+48nHJHvwaWlA4jDxMEgwMDAQiEh5FFf+wKt2FIyCUTAKRioAACKbU9OLJR9NAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4648-3576","institution":"City University of Hong Kong","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Junzhang","middleName":"","lastName":"Ma","suffix":""},{"id":609345644,"identity":"5736ec70-9adc-4fe7-9e34-f1711cb20921","order_by":1,"name":"Zihan Lin","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Department of Physics, The City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Zihan","middleName":"","lastName":"Lin","suffix":""},{"id":609345645,"identity":"d1a5a36e-3b9e-4e0a-8130-2cf4cafdbf17","order_by":2,"name":"Tian Shang","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5916-0020","institution":"East China Normal University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Tian","middleName":"","lastName":"Shang","suffix":""},{"id":609345646,"identity":"10e29ce9-8fd3-4729-8a14-474be696fec0","order_by":3,"name":"Siyan Liu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Siyan","middleName":"","lastName":"Liu","suffix":""},{"id":609345647,"identity":"9f9f503c-b5a3-47f5-8dc3-b40cc717d259","order_by":4,"name":"Xingkai Cheng","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6889-611X","institution":"DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xingkai","middleName":"","lastName":"Cheng","suffix":""},{"id":609345648,"identity":"c3e499b2-1cb2-4b5a-9eb7-21c9de6cac2f","order_by":5,"name":"Sailong Ju","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Paul Scherrer Institute","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sailong","middleName":"","lastName":"Ju","suffix":""},{"id":609345649,"identity":"9a0ab680-2989-410d-a261-a1263db0576e","order_by":6,"name":"Xin Liang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"City University of Hong Kong","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xin","middleName":"","lastName":"Liang","suffix":""},{"id":609345650,"identity":"c9516bc1-9499-4ebf-9ed3-892104c573b2","order_by":7,"name":"Wenlong Lu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Department of Physics, The City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Wenlong","middleName":"","lastName":"Lu","suffix":""},{"id":609345651,"identity":"0fcfed41-1ab9-45f1-b356-532353b0e49f","order_by":8,"name":"Shiyu Feng","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"City University of Hong Kong","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Shiyu","middleName":"","lastName":"Feng","suffix":""},{"id":609345652,"identity":"9cdf870f-6677-4bb7-8db5-be334ec59da8","order_by":9,"name":"Dariusz Gawryluk","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4460-7106","institution":"Paul Scherrer Institute","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Dariusz","middleName":"","lastName":"Gawryluk","suffix":""},{"id":609345653,"identity":"a25dcdff-06af-43aa-af84-6a46c622c8dc","order_by":10,"name":"Ekaterina Pomjakushina","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2446-3830","institution":"Paul Scherrer Institute","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ekaterina","middleName":"","lastName":"Pomjakushina","suffix":""},{"id":609345654,"identity":"ad2af149-ac2d-44e0-bdb3-925f0bd5421e","order_by":11,"name":"Nicholas C. Plumb","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2334-8494","institution":"Paul Scherrer Institute","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Nicholas","middleName":"C.","lastName":"Plumb","suffix":""},{"id":609345655,"identity":"3dc3ca7b-4796-4f79-b863-33943cb47e6d","order_by":12,"name":"Milan Radovic","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4042-9648","institution":"Paul Scherrer Institut","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Milan","middleName":"","lastName":"Radovic","suffix":""},{"id":609345656,"identity":"52619c97-45b7-4738-9f74-61dbe24abe06","order_by":13,"name":"Bastien Michon","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Université Paris-Saclay","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Bastien","middleName":"","lastName":"Michon","suffix":""},{"id":609345657,"identity":"bb6c273c-1711-4402-ab68-96fd74424683","order_by":14,"name":"Wei Bao","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"City University of Hong Kong","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Wei","middleName":"","lastName":"Bao","suffix":""},{"id":609345658,"identity":"c71aff64-2bc9-4351-9399-e86f6b450087","order_by":15,"name":"Hanbin Deng","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9476-5113","institution":"Southern University of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hanbin","middleName":"","lastName":"Deng","suffix":""},{"id":609345659,"identity":"7e715d48-8468-478f-9e1a-903f64375572","order_by":16,"name":"Jia-Xin Yin","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2661-4206","institution":"Southern University of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jia-Xin","middleName":"","lastName":"Yin","suffix":""},{"id":609345660,"identity":"2727ca06-b020-43ef-9bce-1b78a39d53f5","order_by":17,"name":"Ming Shi","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6090-8219","institution":"Zhejiang University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ming","middleName":"","lastName":"Shi","suffix":""},{"id":609345661,"identity":"eed978c4-a96b-4047-a68c-f96984cc8caa","order_by":18,"name":"Junwei Liu","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8051-7349","institution":"Department of Physics, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Junwei","middleName":"","lastName":"Liu","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-06 09:00:36","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9048389/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9048389/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":105460889,"identity":"976bf27b-c189-47bb-a1b6-0e0a2cb20dc2","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-26 09:58:48","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1127449,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscriptv2.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9048389/v1_covered_ea05b37f-c02c-4d7c-923c-6acf4ce7c03b.pdf"},{"id":105460888,"identity":"43cc6cfc-4129-452b-91d2-d507e6db725d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-26 09:58:40","extension":"docx","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":3063092,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Supplementary Materials","description":"","filename":"SupplementaryMaterials.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9048389/v1/ca3423864d803a62b8909a6b.docx"}],"financialInterests":"There is \u003cb\u003eNO\u003c/b\u003e Competing Interest.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eThree-Dimensional Dispersive Excitons in Metallic TbNiC\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"nature-portfolio","isNatureJournal":true,"hasQc":false,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Nature Portfolio","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":false,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"ejp","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9048389/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9048389/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Excitons in semiconductors with negligible group velocity have been extensively investigated using optical methodologies. However, one significant characteristic of excitons for information transmission applications is their mobility, which poses a challenge in band-gapped systems. Meanwhile, three-dimensional dispersive excitons formed with electrons in a partially occupied conduction band are rare due to electron screening effect, excitonic instability, and the technical challenge of realizing them. Here, using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and theoretical simulation, we observed dispersive excitonic bound states that are manifested as replica valence bands across a large portion of the three-dimensional Brillouin in the metallic material TbNiC2. Furthermore, our research indicates that the excitonic bound states are promoted by low density of states of free charges induced by electron-phonon coupling, and the resonance between topological surface and bulk states. Our findings provide a new thread to generate and stabilize three dimensional dispersive excitons in metals, which paves the way for the exploration of novel materials potentially suitable as metallic optoelectronic media which could conduct both electronic and excitonic signals simultaneously.","manuscriptTitle":"Three-Dimensional Dispersive Excitons in Metallic TbNiC2","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-03-26 09:58:30","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9048389/v1","editorialEvents":[],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"nature-communications","isNatureJournal":true,"hasQc":false,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"NCOMMS","sideBox":"Learn more about [Nature Communications](http://www.nature.com/ncomms/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://mts-ncomms.nature.com/","title":"Nature Communications","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"ejp","reportingPortfolio":"Nature Communications","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"fba86d44-b9d3-4700-a255-d485153661c0","owner":[],"postedDate":"March 26th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[{"id":65177796,"name":"Physical sciences/Physics/Condensed-matter physics"},{"id":65177797,"name":"Physical sciences/Physics/Condensed-matter physics/Electronic properties and materials"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-03-26T09:58:31+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-03-26 09:58:30","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9048389","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9048389","identity":"rs-9048389","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}