John Schneeloch

Optical spectroscopy study of the three-dimensional Dirac semimetal ZrTe5

Three-dimensional (3D) topological Dirac materials have been under intensive study recently. The layered compound ZrTe5 has been suggested to be one such material as a result of transport and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy experiments. Here, we perform infrared reflectivity measurements to investigate the underlying physics of this material. The derived optical conductivity increases linearly with frequency below normal interband transitions, which provides optical spectroscopic proof of a 3D Dirac semimetal. In addition, the plasma edge shifts dramatically to lower energy upon temperature cooling, which might be due to the shrinking of the lattice parameters. Additionally, an extremely sharp peak shows up in the frequency-dependent optical conductivity, indicating the presence of a Van Hove singularity in the joint density of state.

Mapping the orbital wavefunction of the surface states in three-dimensional topological insulators

Topological insulators are novel macroscopic quantum-mechanical phase of matter, which hold promise for realizing some of the most exotic particles in physics as well as application towards spintronics and quantum computation. In all the known topological insulators, strong spin-orbit coupling is critical for the generation of the protected massless surface states. Consequently, a complete description of the Dirac state should include both the spin and orbital (spatial) parts of the wavefunction. For the family of materials with a single Dirac cone, theories and experiments agree qualitatively, showing the topological state has a chiral spin texture that changes handedness across the Dirac point (DP), but they differ quantitatively on how the spin is polarized. Limited existing theoretical ideas predict chiral local orbital angular momentum on the two sides of the DP. However, there have been neither direct measurements nor calculations identifying the global symmetry of the spatial wavefunction. Here we present the first results from angle-resolved photoemission experiment and first-principles calculation that both show, counter to current predictions, the in-plane orbital wavefunctions for the surface states of Bi2Se3 are asymmetric relative to the DP, switching from being tangential to the k-space constant energy surfaces above DP, to being radial to them below the DP. Because the orbital texture switch occurs exactly at the DP this effect should be intrinsic to the topological physics, constituting an essential yet missing aspect in the description of the topological Dirac state. Our results also indicate that the spin texture may be more complex than previously reported, helping to reconcile earlier conflicting spin resolved measurements.

Magnetoinfrared Spectroscopy of Landau Levels and Zeeman Splitting of Three-Dimensional Massless Dirac Fermions in ZrTe(5).

We present a magnetoinfrared spectroscopy study on a newly identified three-dimensional (3D) Dirac semimetal ZrTe(5). We observe clear transitions between Landau levels and their further splitting under a magnetic field. Both the sequence of transitions and their field dependence follow quantitatively the relation expected for 3D massless Dirac fermions. The measurement also reveals an exceptionally low magnetic field needed to drive the compound into its quantum limit, demonstrating that ZrTe(5) is an extremely clean system and ideal platform for studying 3D Dirac fermions. The splitting of the Landau levels provides direct, bulk spectroscopic evidence that a relatively weak magnetic field can produce a sizable Zeeman effect on the 3D Dirac fermions, which lifts the spin degeneracy of Landau levels. Our analysis indicates that the compound evolves from a Dirac semimetal into a topological line-node semimetal under the current magnetic field configuration.

Symmetry Protected Josephson Supercurrents in Three-Dimensional Topological Insulators

Coupling the surface state of a topological insulator to an s-wave superconductor is predicted to produce the long-sought Majorana quasiparticle excitations. However, superconductivity has not been measured in surface states when the bulk charge carriers are fully depleted, that is, in the true topological regime relevant for investigating Majorana modes. Here we report measurements of d.c. Josephson effects in topological insulator-superconductor junctions as the chemical potential is moved through the true topological regime characterized by the presence of only surface currents. We compare our results with three-dimensional quantum transport simulations, and determine the effects of bulk/surface mixing, disorder and magnetic field; in particular, we show that the supercurrent is largely carried by surface states, due to the inherent topology of the bands, and that it is robust against disorder. Our results thus clarify key open issues regarding the nature of supercurrents in topological insulators.

Aharonov–Bohm oscillations in a quasi-ballistic three-dimensional topological insulator nanowire

Aharonov-Bohm oscillations effectively demonstrate coherent, ballistic transport in mesoscopic rings and tubes. In three-dimensional topological insulator nanowires, they can be used to not only characterize surface states but also to test predictions of unique topological behaviour. Here we report measurements of Aharonov-Bohm oscillations in (Bi1.33Sb0.67)Se3 that demonstrate salient features of topological nanowires. By fabricating quasi-ballistic three-dimensional topological insulator nanowire devices that are gate-tunable through the Dirac point, we are able to observe alternations of conductance maxima and minima with gate voltage. Near the Dirac point, we observe conductance minima for zero magnetic flux through the nanowire and corresponding maxima (having magnitudes of almost a conductance quantum) at magnetic flux equal to half a flux quantum; this is consistent with the presence of a low-energy topological mode. The observation of this mode is a necessary step towards utilizing topological properties at the nanoscale in post-CMOS applications.

Energy dissipation from a correlated system driven out of equilibrium

In complex materials various interactions have important roles in determining electronic properties. Angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES) is used to study these processes by resolving the complex single-particle self-energy and quantifying how quantum interactions modify bare electronic states. However, ambiguities in the measurement of the real part of the self-energy and an intrinsic inability to disentangle various contributions to the imaginary part of the self-energy can leave the implications of such measurements open to debate. Here we employ a combined theoretical and experimental treatment of femtosecond time-resolved ARPES (tr-ARPES) show how population dynamics measured using tr-ARPES can be used to separate electron–boson interactions from electron–electron interactions. We demonstrate a quantitative analysis of a well-defined electron–boson interaction in the unoccupied spectrum of the cuprate Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x characterized by an excited population decay time that maps directly to a discrete component of the equilibrium self-energy not readily isolated by static ARPES experiments.In complex materials various interactions play important roles in determining the material properties. Angle Resolved Photoelectron Spectroscopy (ARPES) has been used to study these processes by resolving the complex single particle self energy Σ(E) and quantifying how quantum interactions modify bare electronic states. However, ambiguities in the measurement of the real part of the self energy and an intrinsic inability to disentangle various contributions to the imaginary part of the self energy often leave the implications of such measurements open to debate. Here we employ a combined theoretical and experimental treatment of femtosecond time-resolved ARPES (tr-ARPES) and show how measuring the population dynamics using tr-ARPES can be used to separate electron-boson interactions from electron-electron interactions. We demonstrate the analysis of a well-defined electron-boson interaction in the unoccupied spectrum of the cuprate Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+xcharacterized by an excited population decay time that maps directly to a discrete component of the equilibrium self energy not readily isolated by static ARPES experiments.

Superconductivity with two-fold symmetry in topological superconductor SrxBi2Se3

Topological superconductivity is the quantum condensate of paired electrons with an odd parity of the pairing function. By using a Corbino-shape like electrode configuration, we measure the c-axis resistivity of the recently discovered superconductor SrxBi2Se3 with the magnetic field rotating within the basal planes, and find clear evidence of two-fold superconductivity. The Laue diffraction measurements on these samples show that the maximum gap direction is either parallel or perpendicular to the main crystallographic axis. This observation is consistent with the theoretical prediction and strongly suggests that SrxBi2Se3 is a topological superconductor.

Spectroscopic evidence for bulk-band inversion and three-dimensional massive Dirac fermions in ZrTe5

Significance Experimental verifications of the theoretically predicted topological insulators (TIs) are essential steps toward the applications of the topological quantum phenomena. In the past, theoretically predicted TIs were mostly verified by the measurements of the topological surface states. However, as another key feature of the nontrivial topology in TIs, an inversion between the bulk bands has rarely been observed by experiments. Here, by studying the optical transitions between the bulk LLs of ZrTe5, we not only offer spectroscopic evidence for the bulk-band inversion—the crossing of the two zeroth LLs in a magnetic field, but also quantitatively demonstrate three-dimensional massive Dirac fermions with nearly linear band dispersions in ZrTe5. Our investigation provides a paradigm for identifying TI states in candidate materials. Three-dimensional topological insulators (3D TIs) represent states of quantum matters in which surface states are protected by time-reversal symmetry and an inversion occurs between bulk conduction and valence bands. However, the bulk-band inversion, which is intimately tied to the topologically nontrivial nature of 3D Tis, has rarely been investigated by experiments. Besides, 3D massive Dirac fermions with nearly linear band dispersions were seldom observed in TIs. Recently, a van der Waals crystal, ZrTe5, was theoretically predicted to be a TI. Here, we report an infrared transmission study of a high-mobility [∼33,000 cm2/(V ⋅ s)] multilayer ZrTe5 flake at magnetic fields (B) up to 35 T. Our observation of a linear relationship between the zero-magnetic-field optical absorption and the photon energy, a bandgap of ∼10 meV and a B dependence of the Landau level (LL) transition energies at low magnetic fields demonstrates 3D massive Dirac fermions with nearly linear band dispersions in this system. More importantly, the reemergence of the intra-LL transitions at magnetic fields higher than 17 T reveals the energy cross between the two zeroth LLs, which reflects the inversion between the bulk conduction and valence bands. Our results not only provide spectroscopic evidence for the TI state in ZrTe5 but also open up a new avenue for fundamental studies of Dirac fermions in van der Waals materials.

Superconductivity induced by In substitution into the topological crystalline insulator Pb

Indium substitution turns the topological crystalline insulator (TCI) Pb

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