1,980 research outputs found
Prediction of a magnetic Weyl semimetal without spin-orbit coupling and strong anomalous Hall effect in the Heusler compensated ferrimagnet Ti2MnAl
We predict a magnetic Weyl semimetal in the inverse Heusler Ti2MnAl, a
compensated ferrimagnet with a vanishing net magnetic moment and a Curie
temperature of over 650 K. Despite the vanishing net magnetic moment, we
calculate a large intrinsic anomalous Hall effect (AHE) of about 300 S/cm. It
derives from the Berry curvature distribution of the Weyl points, which are
only 14 meV away from the Fermi level and isolated from trivial bands.
Different from antiferromagnets Mn3X (X= Ge, Sn, Ga, Ir, Rh, and Pt), where the
AHE originates from the non-collinear magnetic structure, the AHE in Ti2MnAl
stems directly from the Weyl points and is topologically protected. The large
anomalous Hall conductivity (AHC) together with a low charge carrier
concentration should give rise to a large anomalous Hall angle. In contrast to
the Co-based ferromagnetic Heusler compounds, the Weyl nodes in Ti2MnAl do not
derive from nodal lines due to the lack of mirror symmetries in the inverse
Heusler structure. Since the magnetic structure breaks spin-rotation symmetry,
the Weyl nodes are stable without SOC. Moreover, because of the large
separation between Weyl points of opposite topological charge, the Fermi arcs
extent up to 75% of the reciprocal lattice vectors in length. This makes
Ti2MnAl an excellent candidate for the comprehensive study of magnetic Weyl
semimetals. It is the first example of a material with Weyl points, large
anomalous Hall effect and angle despite a vanishing net magnetic moment.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
The collapsed tetragonal phase as a strongly covalent and fully nonmagnetic state: persistent magnetism with interlayer As-As bond formation in Rh-doped CaSrFeAs
A well-known feature of CaFeAs-based superconductors is the
pressure-induced collapsed tetragonal phase that is commonly ascribed to the
formation of an interlayer As-As bond. Using detailed X-ray scattering and
spectroscopy, we find that Rh-doped CaSrFeAs does
not undergo a first-order phase transition and that local Fe moments persist
despite the formation of interlayer As-As bonds. Our density functional theory
calculations reveal that the Fe-As bond geometry is critical for stabilizing
magnetism and that the pressure-induced drop in the lattice parameter
observed in pure CaFeAs is mostly due to a constriction within the
FeAs planes. These phenomena are best understood using an often overlooked
explanation for the equilibrium Fe-As bond geometry, which is set by a
competition between covalent bonding and exchange splitting between strongly
hybridized Fe and As states. In this framework, the collapsed
tetragonal phase emerges when covalent bonding completely wins out over
exchange splitting. Thus the collapsed tetragonal phase is properly understood
as a strong, covalent phase that is fully nonmagnetic with the As-As bond
forming as a byproduct.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, and 1 table. Supplemental materials are available
by reques
Extremely high magnetoresistance and conductivity in the type-II Weyl semimetals WP2 and MoP2
The peculiar band structure of semimetals exhibiting Dirac and Weyl crossings
can lead to spectacular electronic properties such as large mobilities
accompanied by extremely high magnetoresistance. In particular, two closely
neighbouring Weyl points of the same chirality are protected from annihilation
by structural distortions or defects, thereby significantly reducing the
scattering probability between them. Here we present the electronic properties
of the transition metal diphosphides, WP2 and MoP2, that are type-II Weyl
semimetals with robust Weyl points. We present transport and angle resolved
photoemission spectroscopy measurements, and first principles calculations. Our
single crystals of WP2 display an extremely low residual low-temperature
resistivity of 3 nohm-cm accompanied by an enormous and highly anisotropic
magnetoresistance above 200 million % at 63 T and 2.5 K. These properties are
likely a consequence of the novel Weyl fermions expressed in this compound. We
observe a large suppression of charge carrier backscattering in WP2 from
transport measurements.Comment: Appeared in Nature Communication
Local minimal energy landscapes in river networks
The existence and stability of the universality class associated to local
minimal energy landscapes is investigated. Using extensive numerical
simulations, we first study the dependence on a parameter of a partial
differential equation which was proposed to describe the evolution of a rugged
landscape toward a local minimum of the dissipated energy. We then compare the
results with those obtained by an evolution scheme based on a variational
principle (the optimal channel networks). It is found that both models yield
qualitatively similar river patterns and similar dependence on . The
aggregation mechanism is however strongly dependent on the value of . A
careful analysis suggests that scaling behaviors may weakly depend both on
and on initial condition, but in all cases it is within observational
data predictions. Consequences of our resultsComment: 12 pages, 13 figures, revtex+epsfig style, to appear in Phys. Rev. E
(Nov. 2000
Observation of chirality-neutral Fermi surface in Weyl semimetal candidate SrSi2
Quasiparticle excitations described by the Weyl equation in solids have
attracted massive attention in recent years. So far, a wide range of solids
have been experimental realized as Weyl semimetals (WSMs). On the other hand,
for a compound to display Weyl points it must exhibit either inversion symmetry
breaking or time reversal symmetry breaking. Hence, the Weyl fermions are
vulnerable to annihilation from structural distortions or lattice
imperfections. In the absence of both mirror and inversion symmetry, SrSi2 has
been predicted as a robust WSM by recent theoretical works. Here, supported by
first-principles calculations, we present systematical angle-resolved
photoemission studies of undoped SrSi2 and Ca-doped SrSi2 single crystals.
However, our result shows no evidence of the predicted Weyl fermions at the kz
= 0 plane, as well as the Fermi arcs on (001) surface. Combined with the
first-principles calculations, we suggest that SrSi2 is a topologically trivial
semiconductor
Large Anomalous Hall and Nernst Effects in High Curie-Temperature Iron-Based Heusler Compounds
Abstract The interplay between topology and magnetism has recently sparked the frontier studies of magnetic topological materials that exhibit intriguing anomalous Hall and Nernst effects owning to the large intrinsic Berry curvature (BC). To better understand the anomalous quantum transport properties of these materials and their implications for future applications such as electronic and thermoelectric devices, it is crucial to discover more novel material platforms for performing anomalous transverse transport studies. Here, it is experimentally demonstrated that low-cost Fe-based Heusler compounds exhibit large anomalous Hall and Nernst effects. An anomalous Hall conductivity of 250?750 S cm?1 and Nernst thermopower of above 2 µV K?1 are observed near room temperature. The positive effect of anti-site disorder on the anomalous Hall transport is revealed. Considering the very high Curie temperature (nearly 1000 K), larger Nernst thermopowers at high temperatures are expected owing to the existing magnetic order and the intrinsic BC. This work provides a background for developing low-cost Fe-based Heusler compounds as a new material platform for anomalous transport studies and applications, in particular, near and above room temperature
Direct Measurement of Helicoid Surface States in RhSi using Nonlinear Optics
Despite the fundamental nature of the edge state in topological physics,
direct measurement of electronic and optical properties of the Fermi arcs of
topological semimetals has posed a significant experimental challenge, as their
response is often overwhelmed by the metallic bulk. However, laser-driven
currents carried by surface and bulk states can propagate in different
directions in nonsymmorphic crystals, allowing for the two components to be
easily separated. Motivated by a recent theoretical prediction \cite{chang20},
we have measured the linear and circular photogalvanic effect currents deriving
from the Fermi arcs of the nonsymmorphic, chiral Weyl semimetal RhSi over the
eV incident photon energy range. Our data are in good agreement
with the predicted magnitude of the circular photogalvanic effect as a function
of photon energy, although the direction of the surface photocurrent departed
from the theoretical expectation over the energy range studied. Surface
currents arising from the linear photogalvanic effect were observed as well,
with the unexpected result that only two of the six allowed tensor element were
required to describe the measurements, suggesting an approximate emergent
mirror symmetry inconsistent with the space group of the crystal.Comment: 6+5 pages, 5+3 figure
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Evidence for a percolative Mott insulator-metal transition in doped Sr2IrO4
Despite many efforts to rationalize the strongly correlated electronic ground states in doped Mott insulators, the nature of the doping-induced insulator-to-metal transition is still a subject under intensive investigation. Here, we probe the nanoscale electronic structure of the Mott insulator Sr2IrO4−δ with low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy and find an enhanced local density of states (LDOS) inside the Mott gap at the location of individual defects which we interpret as defects at apical oxygen sites. A chiral behavior in the topography for those defects has been observed. We also visualize the local enhanced conductance arising from the overlapping of defect states which induces finite LDOS inside of the Mott gap. By combining these findings with the typical spatial extension of isolated defects of about 2 nm, our results indicate that the insulator-to-metal transition in Sr2IrO4−δ could be percolative in nature
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