Contribution of interlayer hybridization to the electronic structure in iron pnictides: A study of EELS and first-principles calculations

Using electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) measurements and first-principles electronic structure calculations, the significant interlayer hybridization between the insulating layers (ReO or Ba) and the conducting FeAs layers was investigated in the layered iron pnictides, which is quite different from the case in the cuprate superconductors. This interlayer hybridization would result in an increase in the bandwidth near the Fermi level and interorbital charge transfer in the Fe 3d orbitals, which subsequently leads to a decrease in the Fe local moment and the modification of the Fermi surface topology. Therefore, a three-dimensional character of the electronic structure due to the interlayer hybridization is expected, as observed in previous experiments. These findings indicate that reduced dimensionality is no longer a necessary condition in the search for high-T_c superconductors in iron pnictides.