Topological Materials: Weyl Semimetals

Abstract

Topological insulators and topological semimetals are both new classes of quantum materials, which are characterized by surface states induced by the topology of the bulk band structure. Topological Dirac or Weyl semimetals show linear dispersion around nodes, termed the Dirac or Weyl points, as the three-dimensional analog of graphene. We review the basic concepts and compare these topological states of matter from the materials perspective with a special focus on Weyl semimetals. The TaAs family is the ideal materials class to introduce the signatures of Weyl points in a pedagogical way, from Fermi arcs to the chiral magnetotransport properties, followed by hunting for the type-II Weyl semimetals in WTe2, MoTe2, and related compounds. Many materials are members of big families, and topological properties can be tuned. As one example, we introduce the multifunctional topological materials, Heusler compounds, in which both topological insulators and magnetic Weyl semimetals can be found. Instead of a comprehensive review, this article is expected to serve as a helpful introduction and summary by taking a snapshot of the quickly expanding field.