Electronic excitations in Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_8$ : Fermi surface, dispersion, and absence of bilayer splitting

From a detailed study, including polarization dependence, of the normal state angle-resolved photoemission spectra for Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_8$, we find only one CuO$_2$ band related feature. All other spectral features can be ascribed either to umklapps from the superlattice or to ``shadow bands''. Even though the dispersion of the peaks looks like band theory, the lineshape is anomalously broad and no evidence is found for bilayer splitting. We argue that the ``dip feature'' in the spectrum below $T_c$ arises not from bilayer splitting, but rather from many body effects.