Imaging Orbital Vortex Lines in Three-Dimensional Momentum Space
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Abstract
We report the experimental discovery of orbital vortex lines in the three-dimensional (3D) band structure of a topological semimetal. Combining linear and circular dichroism in soft x-ray angle-resolved photoemission (SX-ARPES) with first-principles theory, we image the winding of atomic orbital angular momentum, thereby revealing - and determining the location of - lines of vorticity in full 3D momentum space. We determine the core of the orbital angular momentum vortex to host an almost movable, twofold, spin-degenerate Weyl nodal line, a topological feature predicted to occur in certain nonsymmorphic crystals. These results establish bimodal dichroism in SX-ARPES as a robust approach to trace 3D orbital textures. Our findings constitute the first imaging of nontrivial quantum-phase winding at line nodes and may pave the way to new orbitronic phenomena in quantum materials.
Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 011032 |
| Journal | Physical Review X |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Publication status | Published - Jan 2025 |
| Peer-reviewed | Yes |