The single-particle spectral function of quasi-one-dimensional insulating materials

The single particle spectral-weight function (SWF) of the ionic Hubbard model at half filling is calculated in the cluster perturbation theory approximation. An abrupt change of regime in the low-energy region, near the chemical potential, is found at a critical value, Uc, of the coupling constant (Hubbard U). The SWF at the Fermi points kF=±π/2 jumps, as U increases, from a two-peak structure, the gap edges, to a four-peak structure accompanied by a (non-vanishing) minimum of the charge-gap. The two inner peaks of this structure show very small dispersion (flat bands) away from the Fermi points, whereas the outer peaks mark the edges of the Hubbard bands. No other signatures of abrupt change are detected in the SWF. The two regimes are physically realized in the angle-resolved photoelectron spectra of (TaSe4)2I, and the blue-bronze K0.3MoO3, respectively.