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Article
Using coherent phonons for ultrafast control of the Dirac node of SrMnSb2
Physics
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-8-2018
Publisher
American Physical Society
Disciplines
Abstract
SrMnSb2 is a candidate Dirac semimetal whose electrons near the Y point have the linear dispersion and low mass of a Dirac cone. Here we demonstrate that ultrafast, 800-nm optical pulses can launch coherent phonon oscillations in Sr0.94Mn0.92Sb2, particularly an Ag mode at 4.4 THz. Through first-principles calculations of the electronic and phononic structure of SrMnSb2, we show that high-amplitude oscillations of this mode would displace the atoms in a way that transiently opens and closes a gap at the node of the Dirac cone. The ability to control the nodal gap on a subpicosecond timescale could create opportunities for the design and manipulation of Dirac fermions.
Citation Information
C. P. Weber, M. G. Masten, T. C. Ogloza, B. S. Berggren, M. K. L. Man, K. M. Dani, J. Liu, Z.
Mao, D. D. Klug, A. A. Adeleke, and Y. Yao, “Using coherent phonons for ultrafast control of
the Dirac node of SrMnSb2”, Phys. Rev. B 98 155115 (2018). https://journals.aps.org/prb/
abstract/10.1103/PhysRevB.98.155115
Copyright © 2018 American Physical Society. Reprinted with permission.
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