Classification of stable Dirac and Weyl semimetals with reflection and rotational symmetry

TL;DR

This paper classifies stable 3D Dirac and Weyl semimetals with reflection and rotational symmetries across seventeen point groups, expanding understanding of their symmetry-protected topological states.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive classification of stable 3D Dirac semimetals with reflection and rotational symmetries, including new types and conditions for their stability.

Findings

Identifies two classes of Dirac semimetals: accidental band crossing and at time reversal invariant momentum.

Shows $C_{2,3}$ symmetries protect Dirac points via TBC, while $C_{4,6}$ can protect as ABC or TBC.

Demonstrates coexistence of Weyl line nodes and Dirac semimetals in certain symmetry settings.

Abstract

Three dimensional (3D) Dirac semimetal is a novel state of quantum matter, characterized by the gapless bulk four-fold degeneracy near Fermi energy. Soon after its discovery, the classification of stable 3D Dirac semimetals with inversion and rotational symmetry have been studied. However, only ten out of thirty-two point groups have both inversion and rotational symmetry, and we need a more complete classification of stable 3D Dirac semimetals. Here we classify stable 3D Dirac semimetals with reflection symmetry and rotational symmetry in the presence of time reversal symmetry, which belong to seventeen different point groups. These systems include the systems preserving inversion symmetry except $\mathrm{C_{3i}}$. They have two classes of reflection symmetry, with the mirror plane parallel to rotation axis and the mirror plane perpendicular to rotation axis. In both cases two types of Dirac semimetals are determined by four different reflection symmetries. The first type of Dirac semimetals will appear through accidental band crossing (ABC). The second type of Dirac semimetals have a Dirac point at a time reversal invariant momentum (TBC). We show that in both mirror parallel and perpendicular cases, $C_{2,3}$ symmetry can only protect stable Dirac points via TBC, while $C_{4,6}$ symmetry can have stable Dirac points as ABC or TBC. We further discuss that Weyl line nodes and Dirac semimetal can exist in Brillouin zone at the same time using $\mathrm{C_{4v}}$ symmetry as an example. Finally we classify Dirac line nodes and Weyl line nodes to show in which types of mirror plane they can exist.