Campus Units
Physics and Astronomy, Materials Science and Engineering, Ames Laboratory
Document Type
Article
Publication Version
Published Version
Publication Date
4-15-2017
Journal or Book Title
Physical Review B
Volume
95
Issue
16
First Page
165114
DOI
10.1103/PhysRevB.95.165114
Abstract
Given the importance of crystal symmetry for the emergence of topological quantum states, we have studied, as exemplified in NbNiTe2, the interplay of crystal symmetry, atomic displacements (lattice vibration), band degeneracy, and band topology. For the NbNiTe2 structure in space-group 53 (Pmna)—having an inversion center arising from two glide planes and one mirror plane with a twofold rotation and screw axis—a full gap opening exists between two band manifolds near the Fermi energy. Upon atomic displacements by optical phonons, the symmetry lowers to space-group 28(Pma2), eliminating one glide plane along c, the associated rotation and screw axis, and the inversion center. As a result, 20 Weyl points emerge, including four type-II Weyl points in the Γ-X direction at the boundary between a pair of adjacent electron and hole bands. Thus, optical phonons may offer control of the transition to a Weyl fermion state.
Copyright Owner
American Physical Society
Copyright Date
2017
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Wang, Lin-Lin; Jo, Na Hyun; Wu, Yun; Wu, QuanSheng; Kaminski, Adam; Canfield, Paul C.; and Johnson, Duane D., "Phonon-induced topological transition to a type-II Weyl semimetal" (2017). Physics and Astronomy Publications. 531.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/physastro_pubs/531
Comments
This article is published as Wang, Lin-Lin, Na Hyun Jo, Yun Wu, QuanSheng Wu, Adam Kaminski, Paul C. Canfield, and Duane D. Johnson. "Phonon-induced topological transition to a type-II Weyl semimetal." Physical Review B 95, no. 16 (2017): 165114. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.95.165114. Posted with permission.