Observation of Fermi arc surface states in a topological metal

Abstract

The topology of the electronic structure of a crystal is manifested in its surface states. Recently, a distinct topological state has been proposed in metals or semimetals whose spin-orbit band structure features three-dimensional Dirac quasiparticles. We used angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to experimentally observe a pair of spin-polarized Fermi arc surface states on the surface of the Dirac semimetal Na₃Bi at its native chemical potential. Our systematic results collectively identify a topological phase in a gapless material. The observed Fermi arc surface states open research frontiers in fundamental physics and possibly in spintronics.