We report calculations of the electric-field gradients (EFGs) in pure and doped CeM In5 (M=Co, Rh, and Ir) compounds and compare with experiment. The degree to which the Ce4f electron is localized is treated within various models: the local-density approximation, generalized gradient approximation (GGA), GGA+U, and 4f -core approaches. We find that there is a correlation between the observed EFG and whether the 4f electron participates in the band formation or not. We also find that the EFG evolves linearly with Sn doping in CeRhIn5, suggesting the electronic structure is modified by doping. In contrast, the observed EFG in CeCoIn5 doped with Cd changes little with doping. These results indicate that nuclear quadrupolar resonance is a sensitive probe of electronic structure. © 2008 The American Physical Society.

Chemical modifications such as intercalation can be used to modify surface properties or to further functionalize the surface states of topological insulators (TIs). Using ambient pressure x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, we report copper migration in C u x B i 2 S e 3 , which occurs on a timescale of hours to days after initial surface cleaving. The increase in near-surface copper proceeds along with the oxidation of the sample surface and large changes in the selenium content. These complex changes are further modeled with core-level spectroscopy simulations, which suggest a composition gradient near the surface which develops with oxygen exposure. Our results shed light on a new phenomenon that must be considered for intercalated TIs—and intercalated materials in general—that surface chemical composition can change when specimens are exposed to ambient conditions.