Helicity-dependent photocurrents in the chiral Weyl semimetal RhSi
Abstract
Weyl semimetals are crystals in which electron bands cross at isolated points in momentum space. Associated with each crossing point (or Weyl node) is a topological invariant known as the Berry monopole charge. The circular photogalvanic effect (CPGE), whereby circular polarized light generates a helicity-dependent photocurrent, is a notable example of a macroscopic property that emerges directly from the topology of the Weyl semimetal band structure. Recently, it was predicted that the amplitude of the CPGE associated with optical transitions near a Weyl node is proportional to its monopole charge. In chiral Weyl systems, nodes of opposite charge are nondegenerate, opening a window of wavelengths where the CPGE resulting from uncompensated Berry charge can emerge. Here, we report measurements of CPGE in the chiral Weyl semimetal RhSi, revealing a CPGE response in an energy window that closes at 0.65 eV, in agreement with the predictions of density functional theory.
- Authors:
-
[1];
[2];
[2];
[2];
[1];
[3];
[1]
- Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA., Materials Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
- Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids, Dresden D-01187, Germany.
- Department of Physics, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA.
- Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA., Department of Applied Physics, The University of Tokyo, Hongo, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan.
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division; Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation; Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST); European Research Council (ERC)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1638568
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1695739
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-05CH11231; GBMF4537; JPMJPR19L9; JPMJCR19T3; 742068
- Resource Type:
- Published Article
- Journal Name:
- Science Advances
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: Science Advances Journal Volume: 6 Journal Issue: 29; Journal ID: ISSN 2375-2548
- Publisher:
- AAAS
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
Citation Formats
Rees, Dylan, Manna, Kaustuv, Lu, Baozhu, Morimoto, Takahiro, Borrmann, Horst, Felser, Claudia, Moore, J. E., Torchinsky, Darius H., and Orenstein, J. Helicity-dependent photocurrents in the chiral Weyl semimetal RhSi. United States: N. p., 2020.
Web. doi:10.1126/sciadv.aba0509.
Rees, Dylan, Manna, Kaustuv, Lu, Baozhu, Morimoto, Takahiro, Borrmann, Horst, Felser, Claudia, Moore, J. E., Torchinsky, Darius H., & Orenstein, J. Helicity-dependent photocurrents in the chiral Weyl semimetal RhSi. United States. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aba0509
Rees, Dylan, Manna, Kaustuv, Lu, Baozhu, Morimoto, Takahiro, Borrmann, Horst, Felser, Claudia, Moore, J. E., Torchinsky, Darius H., and Orenstein, J. Wed .
"Helicity-dependent photocurrents in the chiral Weyl semimetal RhSi". United States. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aba0509.
@article{osti_1638568,
title = {Helicity-dependent photocurrents in the chiral Weyl semimetal RhSi},
author = {Rees, Dylan and Manna, Kaustuv and Lu, Baozhu and Morimoto, Takahiro and Borrmann, Horst and Felser, Claudia and Moore, J. E. and Torchinsky, Darius H. and Orenstein, J.},
abstractNote = {Weyl semimetals are crystals in which electron bands cross at isolated points in momentum space. Associated with each crossing point (or Weyl node) is a topological invariant known as the Berry monopole charge. The circular photogalvanic effect (CPGE), whereby circular polarized light generates a helicity-dependent photocurrent, is a notable example of a macroscopic property that emerges directly from the topology of the Weyl semimetal band structure. Recently, it was predicted that the amplitude of the CPGE associated with optical transitions near a Weyl node is proportional to its monopole charge. In chiral Weyl systems, nodes of opposite charge are nondegenerate, opening a window of wavelengths where the CPGE resulting from uncompensated Berry charge can emerge. Here, we report measurements of CPGE in the chiral Weyl semimetal RhSi, revealing a CPGE response in an energy window that closes at 0.65 eV, in agreement with the predictions of density functional theory.},
doi = {10.1126/sciadv.aba0509},
journal = {Science Advances},
number = 29,
volume = 6,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Jul 15 00:00:00 EDT 2020},
month = {Wed Jul 15 00:00:00 EDT 2020}
}
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https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aba0509
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