Time-dependent spectral functions of the Anderson impurity model in response to a quench with application to time-resolved photoemission spectroscopy

Abstract: We investigate several definitions of the time-dependent spectral function $A(\omega,t)$ of the Anderson impurity model following a quench and within the time-dependent numerical renormalization group method. In terms of the two-time retarded Green function $G^r(t_1,t_2)$, the definitions differ in the choice of the time variable $t$ with respect to $t_1$ and/or $t_2$. In a previous study [Nghiem {\it et al.} Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 156601 (2017)], we investigated the spectral function, obtained from the Fourier transform of ${\rm Im}[G^r(t_1,t_2)]$ w.r.t. the time difference $t'=t_1-t_2$, with $t=t_2$. Here, we derivie expressions for the retarded Green function for the choices $t=t_1$ and the average time $t=(t_1+t_2)/2$, within the TDNRG approach. We compare and contrast the resulting $A(\omega,t)$ for the different choices of time reference. Expressions for the lesser, greater and advanced Green functions are also derived within TDNRG for all choices of time reference. The average time lesser Green function $G^<(\omega,t)$ is particularly interesting, as it determines the time-dependent occupied density of states $N(\omega,t)=G^<(\omega,t)/(2\pi i)$, a quantity that determines the photoemission current in time-resolved pump-probe photoemission spectroscopy. We present calculations for $N(\omega,t)$ for the Anderson model following a quench, and discuss the resulting time evolution of the spectral features, such as the Kondo resonance and high-energy peaks. We also discuss the issue of thermalization at long times for $N(\omega,t)$. Finally, we use the results for $N(\omega,t)$ to calculate the time-resolved photoemission current for the Anderson model following a quench (acting as the pump) and study the different behaviors that can be observed for different resolution times of a Gaussian probe pulse.