Photoinduced Dirac semimetal in ZrTe5
Abstract
Novel phases of matter with unique properties that emerge from quantum and topological protection present an important thrust of modern research. Of particular interest is to engineer these phases on demand using ultrafast external stimuli, such as photoexcitation, which offers prospects of their integration into future devices compatible with optical communication and information technology. Here, we use MeV Ultrafast Electron Diffraction (UED) to show how a transient three-dimensional (3D) Dirac semimetal state can be induced by a femtosecond laser pulse in a topological insulator ZrTe5. We observe marked changes in Bragg diffraction, which are characteristic of bond distortions in the photoinduced state. Using the atomic positions refined from the UED, we perform density functional theory (DFT) analysis of the electronic band structure. Our results reveal that the equilibrium state of ZrTe5 is a topological insulator with a small band gap of ~25 meV, consistent with angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES) experiments. However, the gap is closed in the presence of strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in the photoinduced transient state, where massless Dirac fermions emerge in the chiral band structure. The time scale of the relaxation dynamics to the transient Dirac semimetal state is remarkably long, τ ~ 160 ps, which is twomore »
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN); SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Scientific User Facilities Division; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1702284
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1737414; OSTI ID: 1779470
- Report Number(s):
- BNL-220699-2020-JAAM
Journal ID: ISSN 2397-4648; 80; PII: 280
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-76SF00515; SC0012704
- Resource Type:
- Published Article
- Journal Name:
- npj Quantum Materials
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: npj Quantum Materials Journal Volume: 5 Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 2397-4648
- Publisher:
- Nature Publishing Group
- Country of Publication:
- United Kingdom
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY; Electronic properties and materials; topological insulators
Citation Formats
Konstantinova, T., Wu, L., Yin, W. -G., Tao, J., Gu, G. D., Wang, X. J., Yang, Jie, Zaliznyak, I. A., and Zhu, Y. Photoinduced Dirac semimetal in ZrTe5. United Kingdom: N. p., 2020.
Web. doi:10.1038/s41535-020-00280-8.
Konstantinova, T., Wu, L., Yin, W. -G., Tao, J., Gu, G. D., Wang, X. J., Yang, Jie, Zaliznyak, I. A., & Zhu, Y. Photoinduced Dirac semimetal in ZrTe5. United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41535-020-00280-8
Konstantinova, T., Wu, L., Yin, W. -G., Tao, J., Gu, G. D., Wang, X. J., Yang, Jie, Zaliznyak, I. A., and Zhu, Y. Wed .
"Photoinduced Dirac semimetal in ZrTe5". United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41535-020-00280-8.
@article{osti_1702284,
title = {Photoinduced Dirac semimetal in ZrTe5},
author = {Konstantinova, T. and Wu, L. and Yin, W. -G. and Tao, J. and Gu, G. D. and Wang, X. J. and Yang, Jie and Zaliznyak, I. A. and Zhu, Y.},
abstractNote = {Novel phases of matter with unique properties that emerge from quantum and topological protection present an important thrust of modern research. Of particular interest is to engineer these phases on demand using ultrafast external stimuli, such as photoexcitation, which offers prospects of their integration into future devices compatible with optical communication and information technology. Here, we use MeV Ultrafast Electron Diffraction (UED) to show how a transient three-dimensional (3D) Dirac semimetal state can be induced by a femtosecond laser pulse in a topological insulator ZrTe5. We observe marked changes in Bragg diffraction, which are characteristic of bond distortions in the photoinduced state. Using the atomic positions refined from the UED, we perform density functional theory (DFT) analysis of the electronic band structure. Our results reveal that the equilibrium state of ZrTe5 is a topological insulator with a small band gap of ~25 meV, consistent with angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES) experiments. However, the gap is closed in the presence of strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in the photoinduced transient state, where massless Dirac fermions emerge in the chiral band structure. The time scale of the relaxation dynamics to the transient Dirac semimetal state is remarkably long, τ ~ 160 ps, which is two orders of magnitude longer than the conventional phonon-driven structural relaxation. The long relaxation is consistent with the vanishing density of states in Dirac spectrum and slow spin-repolarization of the SOC-controlled band structure accompanying the emergence of Dirac fermions.},
doi = {10.1038/s41535-020-00280-8},
journal = {npj Quantum Materials},
number = 1,
volume = 5,
place = {United Kingdom},
year = {Wed Nov 04 00:00:00 EST 2020},
month = {Wed Nov 04 00:00:00 EST 2020}
}
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