Evidence of Electron-Hole Imbalance in WTe₂ from High-Resolution Angle-Resolved Photoemission Spectroscopy

WTe₂ has attracted a great deal of attention because it exhibits extremely large and non-saturating magnetoresistance. The underlying origin of such a giant magnetoresistance is still under debate. Utilizing laser-based angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy with high energy and momentum resolutions, we reveal the complete electronic structure of WTe₂. This makes it possible to determine accurately the electron and hole concentrations and their temperature dependence. We find that, with increasing the temperature, the overall electron concentration increases while the total hole concentration decreases. It indicates that the electron-hole compensation, if it exists, can only occur in a narrow temperature range, and in most of the temperature range there is an electron-hole imbalance. Our results are not consistent with the perfect electron-hole compensation picture that is commonly considered to be the cause of the unusual magnetoresistance in WTe₂. We identify a flat band near the Brillouin zone center that is close to the Fermi level and exhibits a pronounced temperature dependence. Such a flat band can play an important role in dictating the transport properties of WTe₂. Our results provide new insight on understanding the origin of the unusual magnetoresistance in WTe₂.