Magnetic Manifestation of Discrete Scaling Symmetry in Dirac Semimetals

Abstract

Two-dimensional and three-dimensional massless Dirac fermions can form a sequence of quasibound states with an attractive charged impurity. These quasibound states exhibit a discrete scaling symmetry, i.e., the energy ratio between two successive states is a constant. Through the calculation of the energy spectrum directly, we find that in two dimension an applied magnetic field can shift or even destroy the quasibound states around the Dirac point and their discrete scaling symmetry disappears. However, as the magnetic field increases, the remaining quasibound states are pushed up to the Dirac point. When one quasibound state is close to the Dirac point, the spectrum is modified significantly, due to the resonant scattering. The magnetic oscillation of the spectrum displays the same discrete scaling symmetry as the quasibound state does in zero magnetic field. This phenomenon also occurs in the quantum limit of three-dimensional Dirac semimetals, where the system becomes quasi one-dimensional essentially. Our theoretical analysis are in good agreement with the recent experimental observations.