articleScienceDec 19, 2014GREEN OA

Observation of Fermi arc surface states in a topological metal

Princeton University · National Taiwan University · +5 more institutions

PubMed
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Abstract

The topology of the electronic structure of a crystal is manifested in its surface states. Recently, a distinct topological state has been proposed in metals or semimetals whose spin-orbit band structure features three-dimensional Dirac quasiparticles. We used angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to experimentally observe a pair of spin-polarized Fermi arc surface states on the surface of the Dirac semimetal Na3Bi at its native chemical potential. Our systematic results collectively identify a topological phase in a gapless material. The observed Fermi arc surface states open research frontiers in fundamental physics and possibly in spintronics.

Citation impact

763
total citations
FWCI
55.14
Percentile
100%
References
35
Citations per year

Authors

18

Topics & keywords

Keywords
  • Topological insulator
  • Surface states
  • Semimetal
  • Topology (electrical circuits)
  • Surface (topology)
  • Dirac (video compression format)
  • Physics
  • Fermi level
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Funding