Negative magnetoresistance without well-defined chirality in the Weyl semimetal TaP

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Frank Arnold - , Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids (Author)
  • Chandra Shekhar - , Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids (Author)
  • Shu Chun Wu - , Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids (Author)
  • Yan Sun - , Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids (Author)
  • Ricardo Donizeth Dos Reis - , Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids (Author)
  • Nitesh Kumar - , Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids (Author)
  • Marcel Naumann - , Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids (Author)
  • Mukkattu O. Ajeesh - , Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids (Author)
  • Marcus Schmidt - , Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids (Author)
  • Adolfo G. Grushin - , Max-Planck-Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems (Author)
  • Jens H. Bardarson - , Max-Planck-Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems (Author)
  • Michael Baenitz - , Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids (Author)
  • Dmitry Sokolov - , Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids (Author)
  • Horst Borrmann - , Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids (Author)
  • Michael Nicklas - , Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids (Author)
  • Claudia Felser - , Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids (Author)
  • Elena Hassinger - , Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids (Author)
  • Binghai Yan - , Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids, Max-Planck-Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems (Author)

Abstract

Weyl semimetals (WSMs) are topological quantum states wherein the electronic bands disperse linearly around pairs of nodes with fixed chirality, the Weyl points. In WSMs, nonorthogonal electric and magnetic fields induce an exotic phenomenon known as the chiral anomaly, resulting in an unconventional negative longitudinal magnetoresistance, the chiral-magnetic effect. However, it remains an open question to which extent this effect survives when chirality is not well-defined. Here, we establish the detailed Fermi-surface topology of the recently identified WSM TaP via combined angle-resolved quantum-oscillation spectra and band-structure calculations. The Fermi surface forms banana-shaped electron and hole pockets surrounding pairs of Weyl points. Although this means that chirality is ill-defined in TaP, we observe a large negative longitudinal magnetoresistance. We show that the magnetoresistance can be affected by a magnetic field-induced inhomogeneous current distribution inside the sample.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number11615
JournalNature communications
Volume7
Publication statusPublished - 17 May 2016
Peer-reviewedYes
Externally publishedYes