Zone-selection effect of photoelectron intensity distributions in a nonsymmorphic system RAlSi (R : Ce and Nd)

TL;DR

This study uses soft x-ray ARPES to reveal how the nonsymmorphic crystal structure of RAlSi influences photoelectron intensity distributions, enabling detailed mapping of Weyl-cone dispersions in these Weyl semimetals.

Contribution

It demonstrates the zone-selection effect in photoelectron distributions caused by nonsymmorphic symmetry, advancing understanding of electronic structures in RAlSi Weyl semimetals.

Findings

Photoelectron intensity distributions are highly zone-dependent.

Reconstructed electronic band structures match band calculations.

Weyl-cone dispersions are traced throughout 3D momentum space.

Abstract

We investigate the electronic structures of noncentrosymmetric Weyl semimetals RAlSi (R: Ce and Nd) using soft x-ray angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. We find that the photoelectron intensity distribution observed in the momentum-resolved electronic bands is highly sensitive to the covered Brillouin zone (BZ) due to the zone-selection effect arising from the nonsymmorphic crystal structure of RAlSi. Our data reconstruct the photoelectron distributions varied according to the zone-selection effect, and reveal comprehensive information about the electronic band structures reproduced by band calculations. This detailed information enables us to experimentally trace the Weyl-cone dispersion throughout three-dimensional momentum space, providing valuable insights into the unique properties of RAlSi.