Crossover in the nature of the metallic phases in the perovskite-type RNiO_3

Abstract

We have measured the photoemission spectra of Nd$_{1-x}$Sm$_{x}$NiO$_{3}$, where the metal-insulator transition and the Néel ordering occur at the same temperature for $x \lesssim 0.4$ and the metal-insulator transition temperature ($T_{MI}$) is higher than the Néel temperature for $x \gtrsim 0.4$. For $x \le 0.4$, the spectral intensity at the Fermi level is high in the metallic phase above $T_{MI}$ and gradually decreases with cooling in the insulating phase below $T_{MI}$ while for $x > 0.4$ it shows a pseudogap-like behavior above $T_{MI}$ and further diminishes below $T_{MI}$. The results clearly establish that there is a sharp change in the nature of the electronic correlations in the middle ($x \sim 0.4$) of the metallic phase of the $R$NiO$_3$ system.