Coherent Peaks and Minimal Probing Depth in Photoemission Spectroscopy of Mott-Hubbard Systems

We have measured hard x-ray photoemission spectra of pure vanadium sesquioxide (V(2)O(3)) across its metal-insulator transition. We show that, in the metallic phase, a clear correlation exists between the shakedown satellites observed in the vanadium 2p and 3p core-level spectra and the coherent peak measured at the Fermi level. Comparing experimental results and dynamical mean-field theory calculations, we estimate the Hubbard energy U in V(2)O(3) (4.20+/-0.05 eV). From our bulk-sensitive photoemission spectra we infer the existence of a critical probing depth for investigating electronic properties in strongly correlated solids.