We report the evolution of the $k$-space electronic structure of lightly doped bulk Ca$_{ 2}$RuO$_{ 4}$ with uniaxial strain. Using ultrathin plate-like crystals, we achieve strain levels up to $-4.1\%$, sufficient to suppress the Mott phase and access the previously unexplored metallic state at low temperature. Angle-resolved photoemission experiments performed while tuning the uniaxial strain reveal that metallicity emerges from a marked redistribution of charge within the Ru $t_{ 2g}$ shell, accompanied by a sudden collapse of the spectral weight in the lower Hubbard band and the emergence of a well defined Fermi surface which is devoid of pseudogaps. Our results highlight the profound roles of lattice energetics and of the multiorbital nature of Ca$_{ 2}$RuO$_{ 4}$ in this archetypal Mott transition and open new perspectives for spectroscopic measurements.
Categories: cond-mat.str-el