Magnetotransport signatures of Weyl physics and discrete scale invariance in the elemental semiconductor tellurium
Nan Zhang, Gan Zhao, Lin Li, Pengdong Wang, Lin Xie, Bin Cheng, Hui Li, Zhiyong Lin, Chuanying Xi, Jiezun Ke, Ming Yang, Jiaqing He, Zhe Sun, Zhengfei Wang, Zhenyu Zhang, Changgan Zeng
Abstract
Significance Recent intensive investigations have revealed unique electronic transport properties in solids hosting Weyl fermions, which were originally proposed in high-energy physics. Up to now, the discovered Weyl systems have been limited to semimetal compounds. Here we demonstrate that the elemental semiconductor tellurium is a Weyl semiconductor, with typical Weyl signatures, including the negative longitudinal magnetoresistance, the planar Hall effect, as well as the intriguing logarithmically periodic magneto-oscillations in the quantum limit regime. Such Weyl semiconductors offer a simple platform for the exploration of novel Weyl physics and topological device applications based on semiconductors and moreover confirm the universality of discrete scale invariance in topological materials.