Cyclotron orbit knot and tunable-field quantum Hall effect

From a semiclassical perspective, the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization of the closed cyclotron orbits for charged particles such as electrons in an external magnetic field gives rise to discrete Landau levels and a series of fascinating quantum Hall phenomena. Here, we consider topologically nontrivial...

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Main Author: Yi Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Physical Society 2019-09-01
Series:Physical Review Research
Online Access:http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.1.022005
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author Yi Zhang
author_facet Yi Zhang
author_sort Yi Zhang
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description From a semiclassical perspective, the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization of the closed cyclotron orbits for charged particles such as electrons in an external magnetic field gives rise to discrete Landau levels and a series of fascinating quantum Hall phenomena. Here, we consider topologically nontrivial physics from a distinct origin, where the cyclotron orbits take nontrivial knotting structures such as a trefoil knot. We present a scenario of a Weyl semimetal with a slab geometry, where the Fermi arcs on the opposing surfaces can cross without interfering with each other and form a knot together with the bulk Weyl nodes, and in an external magnetic field, the resulting chiral Landau levels. We provide a microscopic lattice model to realize a cyclotron orbit with an unconventional geometry of a trefoil knot and study the corresponding quantum oscillations. Interestingly, unlike the conventional ring-shaped cyclotron orbit, a trefoil knot is self-threading, allowing the magnetic field line along the cyclotron orbit to contribute to the overall Berry phase and therefore altering the external magnetic field for each quantization level. The cyclotron orbit knot offers an arena of the nontrivial knot theory in three spatial dimensions and its subsequent physical consequences.
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spelling doaj.art-5ba0b8189ad54ca4b72298196475356f2024-04-12T16:45:41ZengAmerican Physical SocietyPhysical Review Research2643-15642019-09-011202200510.1103/PhysRevResearch.1.022005Cyclotron orbit knot and tunable-field quantum Hall effectYi ZhangFrom a semiclassical perspective, the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization of the closed cyclotron orbits for charged particles such as electrons in an external magnetic field gives rise to discrete Landau levels and a series of fascinating quantum Hall phenomena. Here, we consider topologically nontrivial physics from a distinct origin, where the cyclotron orbits take nontrivial knotting structures such as a trefoil knot. We present a scenario of a Weyl semimetal with a slab geometry, where the Fermi arcs on the opposing surfaces can cross without interfering with each other and form a knot together with the bulk Weyl nodes, and in an external magnetic field, the resulting chiral Landau levels. We provide a microscopic lattice model to realize a cyclotron orbit with an unconventional geometry of a trefoil knot and study the corresponding quantum oscillations. Interestingly, unlike the conventional ring-shaped cyclotron orbit, a trefoil knot is self-threading, allowing the magnetic field line along the cyclotron orbit to contribute to the overall Berry phase and therefore altering the external magnetic field for each quantization level. The cyclotron orbit knot offers an arena of the nontrivial knot theory in three spatial dimensions and its subsequent physical consequences.http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.1.022005
spellingShingle Yi Zhang
Cyclotron orbit knot and tunable-field quantum Hall effect
Physical Review Research
title Cyclotron orbit knot and tunable-field quantum Hall effect
title_full Cyclotron orbit knot and tunable-field quantum Hall effect
title_fullStr Cyclotron orbit knot and tunable-field quantum Hall effect
title_full_unstemmed Cyclotron orbit knot and tunable-field quantum Hall effect
title_short Cyclotron orbit knot and tunable-field quantum Hall effect
title_sort cyclotron orbit knot and tunable field quantum hall effect
url http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.1.022005
work_keys_str_mv AT yizhang cyclotronorbitknotandtunablefieldquantumhalleffect