Persistence of a surface state arc in the topologically trivial phase of MoTe2

The prediction of Weyl fermions in the low-temperature noncentrosymmetric 1T′ phase of MoTe2 still awaits clear experimental confirmation. Here, we report angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES) data and ab initio calculations that reveal a surface state arc dispersing between the valence and the condu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review. B 2017-01, Vol.95 (4)
Main Authors: Crepaldi, A, Autès, G, Sterzi, A, Manzoni, G, Zacchigna, M, Cilento, F, Vobornik, I, Fujii, J, Bugnon, Ph, Magrez, A, Berger, H, Parmigiani, F, Yazyev, O V, Grioni, M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Conduction bands
Fermions
Molybdenum compounds
Photoelectric emission
Surface layers
Tellurides
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Summary:The prediction of Weyl fermions in the low-temperature noncentrosymmetric 1T′ phase of MoTe2 still awaits clear experimental confirmation. Here, we report angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES) data and ab initio calculations that reveal a surface state arc dispersing between the valence and the conduction band, as expected for a Weyl semimetal. However, we find that the arc survives in the high-temperature centrosymmetric 1T′′ phase. Therefore, a surface Fermi arc is not an unambiguous fingerprint of a topologically nontrivial phase. We have also investigated the surface state spin texture of the 1T′ phase by spin-resolved ARPES, and identified additional topologically trivial spin-split states within the projected band gap at higher binding energies.
ISSN:2469-9950
2469-9969
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevB.95.041408