Engineering Weyl nodes in Dirac semimetals by a magnetic field

E. V. Gorbar, V. A. Miransky, and I. A. Shovkovy
Phys. Rev. B 88, 165105 – Published 4 October 2013

Abstract

We study the phase diagram of a Dirac semimetal in a magnetic field at a nonzero charge density. It is shown that there exists a critical value of the chemical potential at which a first-order phase transition takes place. At subcritical values of the chemical potential the ground state is a gapped state with a dynamically generated Dirac mass and a broken chiral symmetry. The supercritical phase is the normal (gapless) phase with a nontrivial chiral structure: it is a Weyl semimetal with a pair of Weyl nodes for each of the original Dirac points. The nodes are separated by a dynamically induced chiral shift. The direction of the chiral shift coincides with that of the magnetic field and its magnitude is determined by the quasiparticle charge density, the strength of the magnetic field, and the strength of the interaction. The rearrangement of the Fermi surface accompanying this phase transition is described.

  • Figure
  • Received 26 July 2013

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.88.165105

©2013 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

E. V. Gorbar1,2, V. A. Miransky3, and I. A. Shovkovy4

  • 1Department of Physics, Taras Shevchenko National Kiev University, Kiev 03022, Ukraine
  • 2Bogolyubov Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kiev 03680, Ukraine
  • 3Department of Applied Mathematics, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5B7
  • 4School of Letters and Sciences, Arizona State University, Mesa, Arizona 85212, USA

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Issue

Vol. 88, Iss. 16 — 15 October 2013

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