Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Updates | Downloads | Help

O: Fachverband Oberflächenphysik

O 59: Electronic Structure of Surfaces I

O 59.1: Topical Talk

Wednesday, March 29, 2023, 15:00–15:30, REC C 213

Interplay of Inversion Symmetry Breaking and Spin-Orbit Coupling — •Maximilian Ünzelmann — Experimentelle Physik 7, Universität Würzburg and Würzburg-Dresden Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat

Inversion symmetry breaking (ISB) in crystalline solids provides an essential way of modifying electronic structures. For example, in combination with spin-orbit coupling (SOC), ISB allows for a lifting of spin degeneracy without the need for magnetism. Moreover, it is a source of Berry curvature, which is of fundamental importance in topological quantum matter. In this talk, two scenarios will be discussed, in which the interplay of ISB with SOC plays an important role: (i) At surfaces or interfaces, where inversion symmetry is inherently broken and the Rashba effect [1] enforces a locking of the electrons spin perpendicular to its momentum and (ii) in Weyl semimetals whose three-dimensional crystal structure has no inversion center, leading to the formation of Berry curvature monopoles, i.e., quantized topological charges [2].

As will be highlighted in this presentation, we find that ISB-induced unquenching of the so-called (atomic) orbital angular momentum (OAM) in the Bloch wave functions constitutes a key mechanism underlying the physics of both the Rashba effect and Weyl semimetals. Angle-resolved photoemission with variable light polarization provides detailed experimental access to the respective momentum-space orbital textures.

[1] M. Ünzelmann et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 176401 (2020)

[2] M. Ünzelmann et al., Nat. Commun. 12, 3650 (2021)