Abstract
Recently discovered Weyl semimetals have received considerable research interest due to the exotic Weyl fermion-like excitations and the nontrivial π Berry phase near the band degenerate points. Here we show that by constructing a Weyl semimetal p–n–p junction and restricting Weyl fermions into closed orbits with electric and magnetic confinements, the Berry phase acquired by the Weyl fermions can be controlled flexibly. This brings out two effects on electron transport through the junction: when the Berry phase is integer multiples of π an obvious phase shift is observed in the transmission map, whereas for non-integer ones of Berry phase the transmission shows strong chirality dependence and a large chiral or valley-level splitting can be induced. Utilizing this chirality splitting, we further propose a new method to measure the Berry phase in Weyl semimetals, which shows accuracy for various potential profiles and has practical applications in experiments.
Highlights
Discovered Weyl semimetals have received considerable research interest due to the exotic Weyl fermion-like excitations and the nontrivial π Berry phase near the band degenerate points
The central n region with length 2L is defined by a potential well U(x) and a uniform magnetic field B is applied in the z-direction to tune the real-space orbit of the Weyl fermions
The connections between different Weyl nodes with opposite chirality would become complicated in this case, but the results should be the same since the Berry phase for Weyl fermions is only chirality dependent and we have ignored the internode scattering between different Weyl nodes
Summary
Discovered Weyl semimetals have received considerable research interest due to the exotic Weyl fermion-like excitations and the nontrivial π Berry phase near the band degenerate points. WSMs. We show that by confining the Weyl fermions into closed orbits using both electric and magnetic fields, the Berry phase of the Weyl fermions with different chiralities has opposite signs and shows significant influence on the transport properties.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
