Science· 2015Q1
Discovery of a Weyl fermion semimetal and topological Fermi arcs
- 3,261citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2015year
Short summary
Researchers experimentally discovered tantalum arsenide (TaAs) as a Weyl semimetal, directly observing topological Fermi arcs on its surface and Weyl fermion cones in its bulk.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Tantalum arsenide (TaAs) is experimentally identified as a Weyl semimetal.
- Topological Fermi arcs were directly observed on the surface of TaAs single crystals.
- Weyl fermion cones and Weyl nodes were observed in the bulk of TaAs.
- Fermi arcs were found to terminate on the Weyl fermion nodes, confirming their topological nature.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
A Weyl semimetal is a new state of matter that 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 a Weyl semimetal, tantalum arsenide (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 fermion nodes, consistent with their topological character. Our work opens the field for the experimental study of Weyl fermions in physics and materials science.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Science, 2015 · DOI ↗
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Field: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Atomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsPhysics and Astronomy