A minimal model for the Weyl nodes and Fermi arcs of PtBi$_2$

Abstract

Weyl semimetals host topologically protected Fermi arcs on their surfaces, originating from the Chern number of the bulk Weyl nodes. In trigonal PtBi$_2$, superconducting signatures have been associated with the Fermi arcs. Theoretical descriptions of this surface superconductivity have so far relied on effective models that are not directly tied to the microscopic electronic structure of the material. In this work we develop a minimal description of the low-energy bands guided by density functional theory calculations and fully constrained by the relevant crystalline and time-reversal symmetries. The model captures the evolution of the Weyl nodes with spin-orbit coupling, including node annihilations, and is able to describe the spin-momentum locking of the surface Fermi arcs. It reproduces the orbital content and the band topology of PtBi$_2$ and provides a starting point for further studies.