Discovery of Dirac Node Arcs in PtSn4

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery of Dirac node arcs in PtSn4, a novel topological structure that extends the concept of Dirac nodes in momentum space, confirmed through ARPES and DFT calculations.

Contribution

It introduces the first experimental observation of Dirac node arcs, expanding the understanding of topological states in quantum materials.

Findings

Discovery of Dirac node arcs in PtSn4

Dirac node arcs resemble extended Dirac dispersion in graphene

Provides a new platform for studying Dirac Fermions

Abstract

In topological quantum materials the conduction and valence bands are connected at points (Dirac/Weyl semimetals) or along lines (Line Node semimetals) in the momentum space. Numbers of studies demonstrated that several materials are indeed Dirac/Weyl semimetals. However, there is still no experimental confirmation of materials with line nodes, in which the Dirac nodes form closed loops in the momentum space. Here we report the discovery of a novel topological structure - Dirac node arcs - in the ultrahigh magnetoresistive material PtSn4 using laser-based angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) data and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Unlike the closed loops of line nodes, the Dirac node arc structure resembles the Dirac dispersion in graphene that is extended along one dimension in momentum space and confined by band gaps on either end. We propose that this reported Dirac node arc structure is a novel topological state that provides a novel platform for studying the exotic properties of Dirac Fermions.