title: Atomic-Scale Visualization of Quantum Interference on a Weyl Semimetal Surface by Scanning Tunneling Microscopy.
abstract: Weyl semimetals may open a new era in condensed matter physics, materials science, and nanotechnology after graphene and topological insulators. We report the first atomic scale view of the surface states of a Weyl semimetal (NbP) using scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy. We observe coherent quantum interference patterns that arise from the scattering of quasiparticles near point defects on the surface. The measurements reveal the surface electronic structure both below and above the chemical potential in both real and reciprocal spaces. Moreover, the interference maps uncover the scattering processes of NbP's exotic surface states. Through comparison between experimental data and theoretical calculations, we further discover that the orbital and/or spin texture of the surface bands may suppress certain scattering channels on NbP. These results provide a comprehensive understanding of electronic properties on Weyl semimetal surfaces.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Topological Quantum Matter and Spectroscopy (B7), Department of Physics, Princeton University , Princeton, New Jersey 08544, United States.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Topological Quantum Matter and Spectroscopy (B7), Department of Physics, Princeton University , Princeton, New Jersey 08544, United States.
authors.forename: Su-Yang
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Topological Quantum Matter and Spectroscopy (B7), Department of Physics, Princeton University , Princeton, New Jersey 08544, United States.
authors.forename: Guang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bian
authors.affiliation: International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University , Peking, China.
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Centre for Advanced 2D Materials and Graphene Research Centre, National University of Singapore , 6 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117546.|Department of Physics, National University of Singapore , 2 Science Drive 3, Singapore 117542.
authors.forename: Guoqing
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Topological Quantum Matter and Spectroscopy (B7), Department of Physics, Princeton University , Princeton, New Jersey 08544, United States.
authors.forename: Daniel S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Sanchez
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Topological Quantum Matter and Spectroscopy (B7), Department of Physics, Princeton University , Princeton, New Jersey 08544, United States.
authors.forename: Ilya
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Belopolski
authors.affiliation: Centre for Advanced 2D Materials and Graphene Research Centre, National University of Singapore , 6 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117546.|Department of Physics, National University of Singapore , 2 Science Drive 3, Singapore 117542.
authors.forename: Chi-Cheng
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Centre for Advanced 2D Materials and Graphene Research Centre, National University of Singapore , 6 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117546.|Department of Physics, National University of Singapore , 2 Science Drive 3, Singapore 117542.
authors.forename: Shin-Ming
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University , Peking, China.
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Center for Condensed Matter Sciences, National Taiwan University , Taipei 10617, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Raman
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sankar
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Topological Quantum Matter and Spectroscopy (B7), Department of Physics, Princeton University , Princeton, New Jersey 08544, United States.
authors.forename: Nasser
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Alidoust
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Topological Quantum Matter and Spectroscopy (B7), Department of Physics, Princeton University , Princeton, New Jersey 08544, United States.|Department of Physics, National Tsing Hua University , Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Tay-Rong
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Princeton Institute for the Science and Technology of Materials, Princeton University , 70 Prospect Avenue, Princeton, New Jersey 08540, United States.
authors.forename: Fan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Princeton Center for Theoretical Science, Princeton University , Princeton, New Jersey 08544, United States.
authors.forename: Titus
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Neupert
authors.affiliation: Center for Condensed Matter Sciences, National Taiwan University , Taipei 10617, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Fangcheng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Chou
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, National Tsing Hua University , Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan.|Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica , Taipei 11529, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Horng-Tay
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Jeng
authors.affiliation: Princeton Institute for the Science and Technology of Materials, Princeton University , 70 Prospect Avenue, Princeton, New Jersey 08540, United States.
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Northeastern University , Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States.
authors.forename: Arun
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bansil
authors.affiliation: International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University , Peking, China.|Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter, Beijing, 100871, China.
authors.forename: Shuang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: Centre for Advanced 2D Materials and Graphene Research Centre, National University of Singapore , 6 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117546.|Department of Physics, National University of Singapore , 2 Science Drive 3, Singapore 117542.
authors.forename: Hsin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Topological Quantum Matter and Spectroscopy (B7), Department of Physics, Princeton University , Princeton, New Jersey 08544, United States.
authors.forename: M Zahid
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Hasan
keywords: Weyl semimetal; scanning tunneling microscopy; topological matter