414 research outputs found
Tuning independently Fermi energy and spin splitting in Rashba systems: Ternary surface alloys on Ag(111)
By detailed first-principles calculations we show that the Fermi energy and
the Rashba splitting in disordered ternary surface alloys (BiPbSb)/Ag(111) can
be independently tuned by choosing the concentrations of Bi and Pb. The
findings are explained by three fundamental mechanisms, namely the relaxation
of the adatoms, the strength of the atomic spin-orbit coupling, and band
filling. By mapping the Rashba characteristics,i.e.the splitting and the Rashba
energy, and the Fermi energy of the surface states in the complete range of
concentrations. Our results suggest to investigate experimentally effects which
rely on the Rashba spin-orbit coupling in dependence on spin-orbit splitting
and band filling.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure
Universal response of the type-II Weyl semimetals phase diagram
The discovery of Weyl semimetals represents a significant advance in
topological band theory. They paradigmatically enlarged the classification of
topological materials to gapless systems while simultaneously providing
experimental evidence for the long-sought Weyl fermions. Beyond fundamental
relevance, their high mobility, strong magnetoresistance, and the possible
existence of even more exotic effects, such as the chiral anomaly, make Weyl
semimetals a promising platform to develop radically new technology. Fully
exploiting their potential requires going beyond the mere identification of
materials and calls for a detailed characterization of their functional
response, which is severely complicated by the coexistence of surface- and
bulk-derived topologically protected quasiparticles, i.e., Fermi arcs and Weyl
points, respectively. Here, we focus on the type-II Weyl semimetal class where
we find a stoichiometry-dependent phase transition from a trivial to a
non-trivial regime. By exploring the two extreme cases of the phase diagram, we
demonstrate the existence of a universal response of both surface and bulk
states to perturbations. We show that quasi-particle interference patterns
originate from scattering events among surface arcs. Analysis reveals that
topologically non-trivial contributions are strongly suppressed by spin
texture. We also show that scattering at localized impurities generate
defect-induced quasiparticles sitting close to the Weyl point energy. These
give rise to strong peaks in the local density of states, which lift the Weyl
node significantly altering the pristine low-energy Weyl spectrum. Visualizing
the microscopic response to scattering has important consequences for
understanding the unusual transport properties of this class of materials.
Overall, our observations provide a unifying picture of the Weyl phase diagram
Information-Driven Inverse Approach to Disordered Solids: Applications to Amorphous Silicon
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