Intervalley scattering by atomic defects in monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs; M X2) presents a serious obstacle for applications exploiting their unique valley-contrasting properties. Here, we show that the symmetry of the atomic defects can give rise to an unconventional protection mechanism against intervalley scattering in monolayer TMDs. The predicted defectdependent selection rules for intervalley scattering can be verified via Fourier transform scanning tunneling spectroscopy (FT-STS), and provide a unique identification of, e.g., atomic vacancy defects (M vs X). Our findings put the absence of the intervalley FT-STS peak in recent experiments in a different perspective.Introduction.-Two-dimensional (2D) monolayers of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs; M X 2 ) are promising candidates for spin-and valleytronics applications [1]. Their hallmarks include unique valleycontrasting properties and strong spin-valley coupling [1, 2] exemplified by, e.g., valley-selective optical pumping [3][4][5], a valley-dependent Zeeman effect [6][7][8][9], and the valley Hall effect [10]. Such means to control the valley degree of freedom are instrumental for valleytronics applications.Another prerequisite for a successful realization of valleytronics is a sufficiently long valley lifetime [11,12]; atomic defects are a common limiting factor which can provide the required momentum for intervalley scattering due to their short-range nature. However, as illustrated in Fig. 1(a), the spin-orbit (SO) induced spin-valley coupling in the K, K valleys of 2D TMDs partially protects the valley degree of freedom against relaxation via intervalley scattering by nonmagnetic defects [2]. Due to the small spin-orbit splitting in the conduction band valleys [13,14], only the valence-band valleys fully benefit from this protection. Identification of additional protection mechanisms in the conduction band would hence be advantageous for valleytronics in 2D TMDs.In this work, we demonstrate that besides the spinvalley coupling, the symmetry and position of atomic defects give rise to unconventional selection rules for intervalley quasiparticle scattering in 2D TMDs. As illustrated in Fig. 1(b), we find that for defects with threefold rotational symmetry (C 3 ), e.g., atomic vacancies, intervalley K ↔ K scattering in the conduction band is forbidden for defects centered on the X site while it is allowed for M centered defects. In the valence band, intervalley scattering is forbidden in both cases. Analogous selection rules for the intervalley coupling due to confinement potentials in 2D TMD based quantum dots have previously been noted [15].Our findings can be readily verified with scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) which has provided valuable insight to the electronic properties of 2D TMDs [16][17][18][19][20]. In particular, Fourier transform STS (FT-STS) is a powerful method for investigating atomic defects and their scattering properties in 2D materials [21,22]. The measured STS map is a probe of the local density ...