Selection rules for quasiparticle interference with internal nonsymmorphic symmetries

Abstract: We study how nonsymmorphic symmetries that commute with lattice translations are reflected in the quasiparticle interference (QPI) maps measured by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). QPI maps, which result from scattering of Bloch states off impurities, record the interference of incoming and scattered waves as a function of energy and tip's position. Although both the impurity and the tip generically break spatial symmetries, we find that the QPI maps provide universal information on these symmetries. The symmetries impose constraints on the relation between various momentum components of the Bloch functions. These relations result in selection rules on certain momentum transfers in QPI maps. We find that universal information is encoded in the absence of QPI signal, or in the relative intensity of its replications. We show examples for one-dimensional chains and an effective model of the layered compound $\rm ZrSiS$. We discuss the implications of our theory in the analysis of observed QPI of the Weyl semimetal $\rm TaAs$. Our theory is particularly relevant for materials in rod and layer space groups, or when a correlated order parameter, such as antiferromagnetism, enlarges the unit cell.