Stability of the topological quantum critical point between multi-Weyl semimetal and band insulator

Abstract

One could tune a topological double-Weyl semimetal or a topological triple-Weyl semimetal to become a topologically trivial insulator by opening a band gap. This kind of quantum phase transition is characterized by the change of certain topological invariant. A new gapless semimetallic state emerges at each topological quantum critical point. Here we perform a renormalization group analysis to investigate the stability of such critical points against perturbations induced by random scalar potential and random vector potential. We find that the quantum critical point between double-Weyl semimetal and band insulator is unstable and can be easily turned into a compressible diffusive metal by any type of weak disorder. The quantum critical point between triple-Weyl semimetal and band insulator flows to a stable strong-coupling fixed point if the system contains a random vector potential merely along the z-axis, but becomes a compressible diffusive metal when other types of disorders exist.