Author(s): Silva, João ; Gonçalves, Miguel ; Castro, Eduardo ; Ribeiro, Pedro ; Araújo, Miguel
Date: 2025
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10174/38004
Origin: Repositório Científico da Universidade de Évora
Subject(s): Topological semimetal; Nodal line; Density of states; Localization
Weyl nodal loop semimetals are gapless topological phases that, unlike their insulator counterparts, may be unstable to small perturbations that respect their topology-protecting symmetries. Here, we analyze a clean system perturbed by chiral off-diagonal disorder using numerically exact methods. We establish that the ballistic semimetallic phase is unstable towards the formation of an unconventional topological diffusive metal hosting topological multifractal surface states. Although, as in the clean case, surface states are exponentially localized along the direction perpendicular to the nodal loop, disorder induces a multifractal structure in the remaining directions. Surprisingly, the number of these states also increases with a small amount of disorder. Eventually, as disorder is further increased, the number of surface states starts decreasing.
