Research in topological matter has expanded to include the Dirac and Weyl semimetals 1-10 , which feature three-dimensional Dirac states protected by symmetry. Zirconium pentatelluride has been of recent interest as a potential Dirac or Weyl semimetal material. Here, we report the results of experiments performed by in situ three-dimensional doubleaxis rotation to extract the full 4π solid angular dependence of the transport properties. A clear anomalous Hall effect is detected in every sample studied, with no magnetic ordering observed in the system to the experimental sensitivity of torque magnetometry. Large anomalous Hall signals develop when the magnetic field is rotated in the plane of the stacked quasi-two-dimensional layers, with the values vanishing above about 60 K, where the negative longitudinal magnetoresistance also disappears. This suggests a close relation in their origins, which we attribute to the Berry curvature generated by the Weyl nodes. Zirconium pentatelluride (ZrTe 5) has recently attracted considerable attention, following the observation of negative longitudinal magnetoresistance (LMR) 11. This negative LMR has been identified with the chiral anomaly 12-14 that is predicted to occur in Dirac and Weyl semimetals 1-10 and was recently observed in Na 3 Bi and GdPtBi 15,16. However, despite the observation of the negative LMR, there are no theoretical predictions showing that ZrTe 5 is a threedimensional (3D) Dirac or Weyl semimetal, in contrast to both Na 3 Bi (ref. 17) and Cd 3 As 2 (ref. 18). Furthermore, the results of angleresolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) experiments 11,19-23 are not yet conclusive. It is therefore of interest to investigate other unusual transport properties of ZrTe 5 , especially the Hall response engendered by the Berry curvature. For Dirac and Weyl semimetals in an electric field E, a finite Berry curvature leads to an anomalous velocity Ω = × v E
We have performed a systematic high-momentum-resolution photoemission study on ZrTe5 using 6 eV photon energy. We have measured the band structure near the Γ point, and quantified the gap between the conduction and valence band as 18 ≤ ∆ ≤ 29 meV. We have also observed photonenergy-dependent behavior attributed to final-state effects and the 3D nature of the material's band structure. Our interpretation indicates the gap is intrinsic and reconciles discrepancies on the existence of a topological surface state reported by different studies. The existence of a gap suggests that ZrTe5 is not a 3D strong topological insulator nor a 3D Dirac semimetal. Therefore, our experiment is consistent with ZrTe5 being a 3D weak topological insulator.
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