Domain dependent Fermi arcs observed in a striped phase dichalcogenide

TL;DR

This study uses photoemission spectroscopy to observe temperature-dependent mesoscopic striped domains in IrTe2, revealing surface Fermi arcs with unique spin polarization linked to symmetry breaking.

Contribution

It reports the discovery of domain-dependent Fermi arcs and their spin properties in a striped phase dichalcogenide, highlighting the interplay between structural domains and surface electronic states.

Findings

Observation of mesoscopic striped domains evolving with temperature

Detection of surface Fermi arcs with peculiar spin polarization

Identification of the relationship between symmetry breaking and surface states

Abstract

Angle-resolved photoemission spectromicroscopy on IrTe2 reveals evolution of mesoscopic striped domains across its first order phase transition at about 280 K. The striped texture of the domains is characterized by a herringbone arrangement of the electronic anisotropy axes. Under further cooling down to 47 K, the striped domains evolve into trijunction domains with the electronic anisotropy in three directions. Each domain harbors quasi one-dimensional surface bands forming Fermi arcs with peculiar spin polarization. The Fermi arc corresponds to an edge state of the two-dimensional bulk electronic states truncated at the surface, indicating an interesting interplay between the symmetry breaking and the surface electronic states.