Discovery of a Weyl fermion semimetal and topological Fermi arcs
Abstract
A Weyl semimetal is a crystal which hosts Weyl fermions as emergent quasiparticles and admits a topological classification that protects Fermi arc surface states on the boundary of a bulk sample. This unusual electronic structure has deep analogies with particle physics and leads to unique topological properties. We report the experimental discovery of the first Weyl semimetal, TaAs. Using photoemission spectroscopy, we directly observe Fermi arcs on the surface, as well as the Weyl fermion cones and Weyl nodes in the bulk of TaAs single crystals. We find that Fermi arcs terminate on the Weyl nodes, consistent with their topological character. Our work opens the field for the experimental study of Weyl fermions in physics and materials science.
- Authors:
- more »
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1355815
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1492574
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-15-21510
Journal ID: ISSN 0036-8075
- Grant/Contract Number:
- FG-02-05ER46200; 89233218CNA000001
- Resource Type:
- Published Article
- Journal Name:
- Science
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: Science Journal Volume: 349 Journal Issue: 6248; Journal ID: ISSN 0036-8075
- Publisher:
- American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
Citation Formats
Xu, S. -Y., Belopolski, I., Alidoust, N., Neupane, M., Bian, G., Zhang, C., Sankar, R., Chang, G., Yuan, Z., Lee, C. -C., Huang, S. -M., Zheng, H., Ma, J., Sanchez, D. S., Wang, B., Bansil, A., Chou, F., Shibayev, P. P., Lin, H., Jia, S., and Hasan, M. Z. Discovery of a Weyl fermion semimetal and topological Fermi arcs. United States: N. p., 2015.
Web. doi:10.1126/science.aaa9297.
Xu, S. -Y., Belopolski, I., Alidoust, N., Neupane, M., Bian, G., Zhang, C., Sankar, R., Chang, G., Yuan, Z., Lee, C. -C., Huang, S. -M., Zheng, H., Ma, J., Sanchez, D. S., Wang, B., Bansil, A., Chou, F., Shibayev, P. P., Lin, H., Jia, S., & Hasan, M. Z. Discovery of a Weyl fermion semimetal and topological Fermi arcs. United States. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaa9297
Xu, S. -Y., Belopolski, I., Alidoust, N., Neupane, M., Bian, G., Zhang, C., Sankar, R., Chang, G., Yuan, Z., Lee, C. -C., Huang, S. -M., Zheng, H., Ma, J., Sanchez, D. S., Wang, B., Bansil, A., Chou, F., Shibayev, P. P., Lin, H., Jia, S., and Hasan, M. Z. Thu .
"Discovery of a Weyl fermion semimetal and topological Fermi arcs". United States. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaa9297.
@article{osti_1355815,
title = {Discovery of a Weyl fermion semimetal and topological Fermi arcs},
author = {Xu, S. -Y. and Belopolski, I. and Alidoust, N. and Neupane, M. and Bian, G. and Zhang, C. and Sankar, R. and Chang, G. and Yuan, Z. and Lee, C. -C. and Huang, S. -M. and Zheng, H. and Ma, J. and Sanchez, D. S. and Wang, B. and Bansil, A. and Chou, F. and Shibayev, P. P. and Lin, H. and Jia, S. and Hasan, M. Z.},
abstractNote = {A Weyl semimetal is a crystal which hosts Weyl fermions as emergent quasiparticles and admits a topological classification that protects Fermi arc surface states on the boundary of a bulk sample. This unusual electronic structure has deep analogies with particle physics and leads to unique topological properties. We report the experimental discovery of the first Weyl semimetal, TaAs. Using photoemission spectroscopy, we directly observe Fermi arcs on the surface, as well as the Weyl fermion cones and Weyl nodes in the bulk of TaAs single crystals. We find that Fermi arcs terminate on the Weyl nodes, consistent with their topological character. Our work opens the field for the experimental study of Weyl fermions in physics and materials science.},
doi = {10.1126/science.aaa9297},
journal = {Science},
number = 6248,
volume = 349,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Jul 16 00:00:00 EDT 2015},
month = {Thu Jul 16 00:00:00 EDT 2015}
}
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https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaa9297
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