Universal signatures of Fermi arcs in quasiparticle interference on the surface of Weyl semimetals

Stefanos Kourtis, Jian Li, Zhijun Wang, Ali Yazdani, B. Andrei Bernevig

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

57 Scopus citations

Abstract

Weyl semimetals constitute a newly discovered class of three-dimensional topological materials with linear touchings of valence and conduction bands in the bulk. The most striking property of topological origin in these materials, so far unequivocally observed only in photoemission experiments, is the presence of open constant-energy contours at the boundary - the so-called Fermi arcs. In this Rapid Communication, we establish the universal characteristics of Fermi-arc contributions to surface quasiparticle interference. Using a general phenomenological model, we determine the defining interference patterns stemming from the existence of Fermi arcs in a surface band structure. We then trace these patterns in both simple tight-binding models and realistic ab initio calculations. Our results show that definitive signatures of Fermi arcs can be observed in existing and proposed Weyl semimetals using scanning tunneling spectroscopy.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number041109
JournalPhysical Review B
Volume93
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 26 2016

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • Condensed Matter Physics

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