Magneto-Optics of a Weyl Semimetal beyond the Conical Band Approximation: Case Study of TaP

The discovery of three-dimensional Van Hove singularity

Arising from the extreme/saddle point in electronic bands, Van Hove singularity (VHS) manifests divergent density of states (DOS) and induces various new states of matter such as unconventional superconductivity. VHS is believed to exist in one and two dimensions, but rarely found in three dimension (3D). Here, we report the discovery of 3D VHS in a topological magnet EuCd2As2 by magneto-infrared spectroscopy. External magnetic fields effectively control the exchange interaction in EuCd2As2, and shift 3D Weyl bands continuously, leading to the modification of Fermi velocity and energy dispersion. Above the critical field, the 3D VHS forms and is evidenced by the abrupt emergence of inter-band transitions, which can be quantitatively described by the minimal model of Weyl semimetals. Three additional optical transitions are further predicted theoretically and verified in magneto-near-infrared spectra. Our results pave the way to exploring VHS in 3D systems and uncovering the coordination between electronic correlation and the topological phase.

Topological Lifshitz transition and one-dimensional Weyl mode in HfTe5

Landau band crossings typically stem from the intra-band evolution of electronic states in magnetic fields and enhance the interaction effect in their vicinity. Here in the extreme quantum limit of topological insulator HfTe₅, we report the observation of a topological Lifshitz transition from inter-band Landau level crossings using magneto-infrared spectroscopy. By tracking the Landau level transitions, we demonstrate that band inversion drives the zeroth Landau bands to cross with each other after 4.5 T and forms a one-dimensional Weyl mode with the fundamental gap persistently closed. The unusual reduction of the zeroth Landau level transition activity suggests a topological Lifshitz transition at 21 T, which shifts the Weyl mode close to the Fermi level. As a result, a broad and asymmetric absorption feature emerges due to the Pauli blocking effect in one dimension, along with a distinctive negative magneto-resistivity. Our results provide a strategy for realizing one-dimensional Weyl quasiparticles in bulk crystals.

Weyl Fermion magneto-electrodynamics and ultralow field quantum limit in TaAs

Topological semimetals are predicted to exhibit unconventional electrodynamics, but a central experimental challenge is singling out the contributions from the topological bands. TaAs is the prototypical example, where 24 Weyl points and 8 trivial Fermi surfaces make the interpretation of any experiment in terms of band topology ambiguous. We report magneto-infrared reflection spectroscopy measurements on TaAs. We observed sharp inter-Landau level transitions from a single pocket of Weyl Fermions in magnetic fields as low as 0.4 tesla. We determine the W2 Weyl point to be 8.3 meV below the Fermi energy, corresponding to a quantum limit—the field required to reach the lowest LL—of 0.8 tesla—unprecedentedly low for Weyl Fermions. LL spectroscopy allows us to isolate these Weyl Fermions from all other carriers in TaAs, and our result provides a way for directly exploring the more exotic quantum phenomena in Weyl semimetals, such as the chiral anomaly.

Magneto-Optical Transport Properties of Type-II Nodal Line Semimetals

We investigate the magneto-optical transport properties and Landau levels of type-II nodal line semimetals. The tilted liner dispersion in type-II nodal line semimetals makes the conduction band and valence band asymmetric, and Landau levels are coupling in the presence of a magnetic field. We find the background of absorption peaks is curved. The oscillation peaks are tailless with the change of magnetic field. Through tuning tilt term, we find the absorption peaks of optical conductivity change from incomplete degenerate structure to splitting double peaks structure. We also find interband absorption peaks is no longer zero in the imaginary part of Hall conductivity. With the change of the tilt term, the contribution of the absorption peak has two forms, one is that the negative peak only appears at high frequencies, and the other is two adjacent peaks with opposite signs. In addition, the resistivity, circularly polarized light and magnetic oscillation of Hall conductivity are studied.

Novel electric field effects on magneto-optical conductivity in eight-Pmmnborophene

We theoretically study the Landau levels and the magneto-optical conductivity of eight-Pmmnborophene in the presence of a perpendicular magnetic field and an inplane electric field. We find that in the absence of the inplane electric field, the magneto-optical conductivity of eight-Pmmnborophene presents a series of striking single resonance peaks as functions of the frequencyω, and the longitudinal conductivities are found to be anisotropic due to its anisotropic tilted Dirac cones. In the presence of the inplane electric field, some novel effects are predicted on the Landau levels and the magneto-optical conductivity. The Landau level spacings in the two tilted Dirac cones are different, which lifts the degeneracy of the twofold valley, and the magneto-optical conductivity appears a double peak structure. We also discuss the influence of the chemical potential between different Landau levels on the double peak of the magneto-optical response. The valley related magneto-optical properties in the anisotropic structure may make eight-Pmmnborophene a candidate for the new optical devices.

Optical Response of Chiral Multifold Semimetal PdGa

We present a theoretical study of the band structure and optical conductivity for the chiral multifold semimetal PdGa. We identify several characteristic features in the optical conductivity and provide their origins within the band structure. As experimental optical studies for the mentioned compound have not been reported, we contrast our results with the related compounds, RhSi and CoSi. We believe that the presented hallmarks will provide guidance to future experimental works.