Simulation on the electronic wave packet cyclotron motion in a Weyl semimetal slab

Abstract

We perform a numerical simulation on the time evolution of an electronic wave packet in a Weyl semimetal (WSM) slab driven by a magnetic field. We find that the evolution trajectory of the wave packet depends sensitively on its initial spin state. Only with initial spin state identical to that of the Fermi arc state at the surface it localized, does the wave packet evolution demonstrate the characteristic cyclotron orbit of WSM previously predicted from a semiclassical viewpoint. By analyzing the eigen-expansion of the electronic wave packet, we find the chiral Landau levels (LLs) of the WSM slab, as ingredients of the wave packet, to be responsible for establishing the characteristic WSM cyclotron orbit. In contrast, the nonchiral LLs contribute irregular oscillations to the wave packet evolution, going against the formation of a well-defined cyclotron orbit. In addition, the tilted magnetic field does not affect the motion of the electronic wave packet along the Fermi arcs in the momentum space. It does, however, alter the evolution trajectory of the electronic wave packet in real space and spin space. Finally, the energy disalignment of the Weyl nodes results in a 3D cyclotron orbit in real space.