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Abstract:
The excitation of coherent phonons provides unique capabilities to control fundamental properties of quantum materials on ultrafast time scales. Recently, it was predicted that a topologically protected Weyl semimetal phase in the transition metal dichalcogenide Td-WTe2 can be controlled and, ultimately, be destroyed upon the coherent excitation of an interlayer shear mode. By monitoring electronic structure changes with femtosecond resolution, we provide here direct experimental evidence that the shear mode acts on the electronic states near the phase-defining Weyl points. Furthermore, we observe a periodic reduction in the spin splitting of bands, a distinct electronic signature of the Weyl phase-stabilizing non-centrosymmetric Td ground state of WTe2. The comparison with higher-frequency coherent phonon modes finally proves the shear mode-selectivity of the observed changes in the electronic structure. Our real-time observations reveal direct experimental insights into electronic processes that are of vital importance for a coherent phonon-induced topological phase transition in Td-WTe2. © 2020, The Author(s).
