Engineering a pure Dirac regime in ZrTe5

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Jorge I. Facio - , Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden, National Scientific and Technical Research Council Argentina (CONICET) (Author)
  • Elisabetta Nocerino - , KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Author)
  • Ion C. Fulga - , Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (Author)
  • Rafal Wawrzynczak - , Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids (Author)
  • Joanna Brown - , Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids (Author)
  • Genda Gu - , Brookhaven National Laboratory (Author)
  • Qiang Li - , Brookhaven National Laboratory, Stony Brook University (Author)
  • Martin Mansson - , KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Author)
  • Yasmine Sassa - , Chalmers University of Technology (Author)
  • Oleh Ivashko - , German Electron Synchrotron (DESY) (Author)
  • Martin V. Zimmermann - , German Electron Synchrotron (DESY) (Author)
  • Felix Mende - , Chair of Experimental Physics / Photophysics (Author)
  • Johannes Gooth - , Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids, University of Bonn (Author)
  • Stanislaw Galeski - , Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids, University of Bonn (Author)
  • Jeroen van den Brink - , Clusters of Excellence ct.qmat: Complexity and Topology in Quantum Matter, Chair of Solid State Theory, Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (Author)
  • Tobias Meng - , Chair of Theoretical Solid State Physics, Clusters of Excellence ct.qmat: Complexity and Topology in Quantum Matter (Author)

Abstract

Real-world topological semimetals typically exhibit Dirac and Weyl nodes that coexist with trivial Fermi pockets. This tends to mask the physics of the relativistic quasiparticles. Using the example of ZrTe5, we show that strain provides a powerful tool for in-situ tuning of the band structure such that all trivial pockets are pushed far away from the Fermi energy, but only for a certain range of Van der Waals gaps. Our results naturally reconcile contradicting reports on the presence or absence of additional pockets in ZrTe5, and provide a clear map of where to find a pure three-dimensional Dirac semimetallic phase in the structural parameter space of the material.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number066
JournalSciPost physics
Volume14
Issue number4
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2023
Peer-reviewedYes

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