TY  - JOUR
A1  - Ünzelmann, M.
A1  - Bentmann, H.
A1  - Figgemeier, T.
A1  - Eck, P.
A1  - Neu, J. N.
A1  - Geldiyev, B.
A1  - Diekmann, F.
A1  - Rohlf, S.
A1  - Buck, J.
A1  - Hoesch, M.
A1  - Kalläne, M.
A1  - Rossnagel, K.
A1  - Thomale, R.
A1  - Siegrist, T.
A1  - Sangiovanni, G.
A1  - Di Sante, D.
A1  - Reinert, F.
T1  - Momentum-space signatures of Berry flux monopoles in the Weyl semimetal TaAs
JF  - Nature Communications
N2  - Since the early days of Dirac flux quantization, magnetic monopoles have been sought after as a potential corollary of quantized electric charge. As opposed to magnetic monopoles embedded into the theory of electromagnetism, Weyl semimetals (WSM) exhibit Berry flux monopoles in reciprocal parameter space. As a function of crystal momentum, such monopoles locate at the crossing point of spin-polarized bands forming the Weyl cone. Here, we report momentum-resolved spectroscopic signatures of Berry flux monopoles in TaAs as a paradigmatic WSM. We carried out angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy at bulk-sensitive soft X-ray energies (SX-ARPES) combined with photoelectron spin detection and circular dichroism. The experiments reveal large spin- and orbital-angular-momentum (SAM and OAM) polarizations of the Weyl-fermion states, resulting from the broken crystalline inversion symmetry in TaAs. Supported by first-principles calculations, our measurements image signatures of a topologically non-trivial winding of the OAM at the Weyl nodes and unveil a chirality-dependent SAM of the Weyl bands. Our results provide directly bulk-sensitive spectroscopic support for the non-trivial band topology in the WSM TaAs, promising to have profound implications for the study of quantum-geometric effects in solids. Weyl semimetals exhibit Berry flux monopoles in momentum-space, but direct experimental evidence has remained elusive. Here, the authors reveal topologically non-trivial winding of the orbital-angular-momentum at the Weyl nodes and a chirality-dependent spin-angular-momentum of the Weyl bands, as a direct signature of the Berry flux monopoles in TaAs.
KW  - electronic properties and materials
KW  - topological insulators
Y1  - 2021
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-260719
VL  - 12
IS  - 1
ER  -