Johannes Schoop | Searcharxiv

arXiv2020

Disorder-induced coupling of Weyl nodes in WTe$_2$

The finite coupling between Weyl nodes due to residual disorder is investigated by magnetotransport studies in WTe$_2$. The anisotropic scattering of quasiparticles is evidenced from classical and quantum transport measurements. A new theoretical approach using a real band structure is developed to calculate the dependence of the scattering anisotropy with the correlation length of the disorder. A comparison between theory and experiments reveals for the first time a short correlation length in WTe$_2$ ($ξ$~nm). This result implies a significant coupling between Weyl nodes and other bands, so that inter-node scattering strongly reduces topologically non-trivial properties, such as the chiral anomaly.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Spin-polaron ladder spectrum of the spin-orbit-induced Mott insulator Sr$_2$IrO$_{4}$ probed by scanning tunneling spectroscopy

The motion of doped electrons or holes in an antiferromagnetic lattice with strong on-site Coulomb interactions touches one of the most fundamental open problems in contemporary condensed matter physics. The doped charge may strongly couple to elementary spin excitations resulting in a dressed quasiparticle which is subject to confinement. This 'spin-polaron' possesses internal degrees of freedom with a characteristic 'ladder' excitation spectrum. Despite its fundamental importance for understanding high-temperature superconductivity, clear experimental spectroscopic signatures of these internal degrees of freedom are scarce. Here we present scanning tunneling spectroscopy results of the spin-orbit-induced Mott insulator Sr$_2$IrO$_{4}$. Our spectroscopy data reveal distinct shoulder-like features for occupied and unoccupied states beyond a measured Mott gap of $Δ\approx620$~meV. Using the self-consistent Born approximation we assign the anomalies in the unoccupied states to the spin-polaronic ladder spectrum with excellent quantitative agreement and estimate the Coulomb repulsion $U$ = 2.05 ...2.28 eV in this material. These results confirm the strongly correlated electronic structure of this compound and underpin the previously conjectured paradigm of emergent unconventional superconductivity in doped Sr$_2$IrO$_{4}$.

cond-mat.str-el↗