Electrical Tuning of the Excitonic Insulator Ground State of Ta2NiSe5

Abstract

We demonstrate that the excitonic insulator ground state of Ta2NiSe5 can be electrically controlled by electropositive surface adsorbates. Our studies utilizing angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy reveal intriguing wave-vector-dependent deformations of the characteristic flattop valence band of this material upon potassium adsorption. The observed band deformation indicates a reduction of the single-particle band gap due to the Stark effect near the surface. The present study provides the foundation for the electrical tuning of the many-body quantum states in excitonic insulators.