PT-Symmetric Real Dirac Fermions and Semimetals

Recently, Weyl fermions have attracted increasing interest in condensed matter physics due to their rich phenomenology originated from their nontrivial monopole charges. Here, we present a theory of real Dirac points that can be understood as real monopoles in momentum space, serving as a real gener...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2017-02, Vol.118 (5), p.056401-056401
Main Authors: Zhao, Y X, Lu, Y
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cold atoms
Condensed matter physics
Fermions
Insulators
Metalloids
Monopoles
Symmetry
Topology
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Summary:Recently, Weyl fermions have attracted increasing interest in condensed matter physics due to their rich phenomenology originated from their nontrivial monopole charges. Here, we present a theory of real Dirac points that can be understood as real monopoles in momentum space, serving as a real generalization of Weyl fermions with the reality being endowed by the PT symmetry. The real counterparts of topological features of Weyl semimetals, such as Nielsen-Ninomiya no-go theorem, 2D subtopological insulators, and Fermi arcs, are studied in the PT symmetric Dirac semimetals and the underlying reality-dependent topological structures are discussed. In particular, we construct a minimal model of the real Dirac semimetals based on recently proposed cold atom experiments and quantum materials about PT symmetric Dirac nodal line semimetals.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.056401