Real-world topological semimetals typically exhibit Dirac and Weyl nodes that coexist with trivial Fermi pockets. This tends to mask the physics of the relativistic quasiparticles. Using the example of ZrTe5, we show that strain provides a powerful tool for in-situ tuning of the band structure such that all trivial pockets are pushed far away from the Fermi energy, but only for a certain range of Van der Waals gaps. Our results naturally reconcile contradicting reports on the presence or absence of additional pockets in ZrTe5, and provide a clear map of where to find a pure three-dimensional Dirac semimetallic phase in the structural parameter space of the material.
@article{arxiv.2206.13957,
title = {Engineering a pure Dirac regime in ZrTe$_5$},
author = {Jorge I. Facio and Elisabetta Nocerino and Ion Cosma Fulga and Rafal Wawrzynczak and Joanna Brown and Genda Gu and Qiang Li and Martin Mansson and Yasmine Sassa and Oleh Ivashko and Martin v. Zimmermann and Felix Mende and Johannes Gooth and Stanislaw Galeski and Jeroen van den Brink and Tobias Meng},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2206.13957},
year = {2023}
}