Momentum-dependent spin selection rule in photoemission with glide symmetry

Abstract

We present a comprehensive theory of the spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (SARPES) of materials with glide-mirror symmetry, focusing on the role of glide symmetry in the spin selection rule. In the glide-symmetric SARPES configuration, where the surface of a material, the incoming light, and the outgoing photoelectrons are invariant under a glide reflection, the spin polarization of photoelectrons is determined by the glide eigenvalue of the initial state, which makes SARPES a powerful tool for studying topological phases protected by glide symmetry. We also show that, due to the nonsymmorphic character of glide symmetry, the spin polarization of a photoelectron whose momentum is in the second surface Brillouin zone is the opposite of the spin polarization of a photoelectron which is ejected from the same initial Bloch state but whose momentum is in the first zone. This momentum dependence of the spin selection rule clearly distinguishes glide symmetry from mirror symmetry and is particularly important if the Bloch wave vector of the initial state is close to the first surface Brillouin zone boundary. As a proof of principle, we simulate the SARPES from the surface states of KHgSb (010) and investigate how the spin selection rule imposed by the glide symmetry manifests itself in a real material.