  Layered ferromagnets are thrilling materials from both a fundamental and
technological point of view. VI3 is an interesting example, with a complex
magnetism that differentiates it from the first reported Cr based layered
ferromagnets. Here, we show in an indirect way through Angle Resolved
Photoemission Spectroscopy (ARPES) experiments, the importance of spin-orbit
coupling setting the electronic properties of this material. Our light
polarized photoemission measurements point to a ground state with a half-filled
e'_+- doublet, where a gap opening is triggered by spin-orbit coupling enhanced
by electronic correlations.
