Evidence for Weyl fermions in the elemental semiconductor tellurium (1906.06071v1)

Abstract: The recent discovery of Weyl fermions in solids enables exploitation of relativistic physics and development of a spectrum of intriguing physical phenomena. They are constituted of pairs of Weyl points with two-fold band degeneracy, which in principle can be hosted in any materials without inversion or time-reversal symmetry. However, previous studies of Weyl fermions have been limited exclusively to semimetals. Here, by combining magneto-transport measurements, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, and band structure calculations, Weyl fermions are identified in an elemental semiconductor tellurium. This is mainly achieved by direct observation of the representative transport signatures of the chiral anomaly, including the negative longitudinal magnetoresistance and the planar Hall effect. Semiconductor materials are well suited for band engineering, and therefore provide an ideal platform for manipulating the fundamental Weyl fermionic behaviors. Furthermore, introduction of Weyl physics into semiconductors to develop "Weyl semiconductors" also creates a new degree of freedom for the future design of semiconductor electronic and optoelectronic devices.