Magnetic-field-induced relativistic properties in type-I and type-II Weyl semimetals

TL;DR

This paper explores how magnetic fields influence the relativistic properties of type-I and type-II Weyl semimetals, revealing new optical transitions and methods to distinguish between different semimetal types.

Contribution

It demonstrates that Landau levels can form in overtilted Weyl cones under certain magnetic field orientations and introduces a Lorentz transformation framework to analyze their optical spectra.

Findings

Landau levels can form in overtilted Weyl cones with specific magnetic field orientations.

Tilt effects can be described using Lorentz transformations, leading to a rich spectrum.

Distinct optical features can differentiate between type-I and type-II Weyl semimetals.

Abstract

We investigate Weyl semimetals with tilted conical bands in a magnetic field. Even when the cones are overtilted (type-II Weyl semimetal), Landau-level quantization can be possible as long as the magnetic field is oriented close to the tilt direction. Most saliently, the tilt can be described within the relativistic framework of Lorentz transformations that give rise to a rich spectrum, displaying new transitions beyond the usual dipolar ones in the optical conductivity. We identify particular features in the latter that allow one to distinguish between semimetals of different types.