Spectroscopic Evidence of Type II Weyl Semimetal State in WTe2

Abstract

Quantum topological materials, exemplified by topological insulators, three-dimensional Dirac semimetals and Weyl semimetals, have attracted much attention recently because of their unique electronic structure and physical properties. Very lately it is proposed that the three-dimensional Weyl semimetals can be further classified into two types. In the type I Weyl semimetals, a topologically protected linear crossing of two bands, i.e., a Weyl point, occurs at the Fermi level resulting in a point-like Fermi surface. In the type II Weyl semimetals, the Weyl point emerges from a contact of an electron and a hole pocket at the boundary resulting in a highly tilted Weyl cone. In type II Weyl semimetals, the Lorentz invariance is violated and a fundamentally new kind of Weyl Fermions is produced that leads to new physical properties. WTe2 is interesting because it exhibits anomalously large magnetoresistance. It has ignited a new excitement because it is proposed to be the first candidate of realizing type II Weyl Fermions. Here we report our angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES) evidence on identifying the type II Weyl Fermion state in WTe2. By utilizing our latest generation laser-based ARPES system with superior energy and momentum resolutions, we have revealed a full picture on the electronic structure of WTe2. Clear surface state has been identified and its connection with the bulk electronic states in the momentum and energy space shows a good agreement with the calculated band structures with the type II Weyl states. Our results provide spectroscopic evidence on the observation of type II Weyl states in WTe2. It has laid a foundation for further exploration of novel phenomena and physical properties in the type II Weyl semimetals.