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Photoemission tomography of excitons: Momentum-space signatures of correlated electron-hole wave functions

Siegfried Kaidisch1, Amir Kleiner1,2, Sivan Refaely-Abramson2, Peter Puschnig1, and Christian S. Kern1,*

  • *Contact author: christian.kern@uni-graz.at
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Phys. Rev. B 114, 285109 – Published 9 November, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/z2w9-2q3c

Abstract

The momentum-space signatures of excitons can be experimentally accessed through time-resolved (pump-probe) photoelectron spectroscopy. In this work, we develop a computational framework for exciton photoemission orbital tomography (exPOT) in periodic systems, enabling the simulation and interpretation of experimental observables within many-body perturbation theory. By connecting the GW+ Bethe-Salpeter equation (BSE) approach to photoemission tomography, our formalism captures exciton photoemission in periodic systems, explicitly incorporating photoemission matrix element effects induced by the light-matter interaction via the probe pulse. The correlated nature of electrons and holes introduces distinct consequences for excitonic photoemission. Using the prototypical two-dimensional material hexagonal boron nitride, we demonstrate these effects, including a dependence of the photoemission angular distribution on the pump pulse polarization. Moreover, our framework extends to excitons with finite center-of-mass momentum, making it well-suited to studying momentum-dark excitons. This provides valuable insights into the microscopic nature of excitonic phenomena in quantum materials.

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Phys. Rev. B 114, 285109– Published 9 November, 2026
  • Received 22 December 2025
  • Accepted 3 September 2026
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