  We study the electronic structure of an exotic superconductor, PdTe employing
depth-resolved high resolution photoemission spectroscopy and density
functional theory. The valence band spectra exhibit large density of states at
the Fermi level with flat intensity in a wide energy range indicating highly
metallic ground state. The Pd 4d-Te 5p hybridization is found to be strong
leading to a highly covalent character of the itinerant states. Core level
spectra exhibit several features including the signature of plasmon
excitations. Although the radial extension of the 4d orbitals is larger than 3d
ones, the Pd core level spectra exhibit distinct satellites indicating
importance of electron correlation in the electronic structure which may be a
reason for unconventional superconductivity observed in this system. The
depth-resolved data reveal surface peaks at higher binding energies in both, Te
and Pd core level spectra. Interestingly, core level shift in Te-case is
significantly large compared to Pd although Te is relatively more
electronegative. Detailed analysis rules out applicability of the charge
transfer and/or band-narrowing models to capture this scenario. This unusual
scenario is attributed to the reconstruction and/or vacancies at the surface.
These results reveal the importance of electron correlation and surface
topology for the physics of this material exhibiting Dirac fermions and complex
superconductivity.
