Observation of a Dirac nodal line in AlB2

We have performed angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy of AlB2 which is isostructural to high-temperature superconductor MgB2. Using soft-x-ray photons, we accurately determined the three-dimensional bulk band structure and found a highly anisotropic Dirac-cone band at the K point in the bulk hexagonal Brillouin zone. This band disperses downward on approaching the H point while keeping its degeneracy at the Dirac point, producing a characteristic Dirac nodal line along the KH line. We also found that the band structure of AlB2 is regarded as a heavily electron-doped version of MgB2 and is therefore well suited for fully visualizing the predicted Dirac nodal line. The present results suggest that (Al,Mg)B2 system is a promising platform for studying the interplay among Dirac nodal line, carrier doping, and possible topological superconducting properties.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure

Unusual change in the Dirac-cone energy band upon a two-step magnetic transition in CeBi

We have performed angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) on CeBi which undergoes a two-step antiferromagnetic (AF) transition with temperature. Soft-x-ray ARPES has revealed the inverted band structure at the X point of bulk Brillouin zone for CeBi (and also for LaBi) as opposed to LaSb with non-inverted band structure. Low-energy ARPES on CeBi has revealed the Dirac-cone band at the Gamma point in the paramagnetic phase associated with the bulk band inversion. On the other hand, a double Dirac-cone band appears on entering the first AF phase at T = 25 K, whereas a single Dirac-cone band recovers below the second AF transition at T = 14 K. The present result suggests an intricate interplay between antiferromagnetism and topological surface states in CeBi.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure

Evidence for bulk nodal loops and universality of Dirac-node arc surface states in ZrGeXc (X-c = S, Se, Te)

We have performed angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) on layered ternary compounds ZrGeXc (X-c = S, Se, and Te) with square Ge lattices. ARPES measurements with bulk-sensitive soft-x-ray photons revealed a quasi-two-dimensional bulk-band structure with the bulk nodal loops protected by glide mirror symmetry of the crystal lattice. Moreover, high-resolution ARPES measurements near the Fermi level with vacuum-ultraviolet photons combined with first-principles band-structure calculations elucidated a Diracnode-arc surface state traversing a tiny spin-orbit gap associated with the nodal loops. We found that this surface state commonly exists in ZrGeXc despite the difference in the shape of nodal loops. The present results suggest that the spin-orbit coupling and the multiple nodal loops cooperatively play a key role in creating the exotic Dirac-node-arc surface states in this class of topological line-node semimetals

Observation of Chiral Fermions with a Large Topological Charge and Associated Fermi-Arc Surface States in CoSi

Topological semimetals materialize a new state of quantum matter where massless fermions protected by a specific crystal symmetry host exotic quantum phenomena. Distinct from well-known Dirac and Weyl fermions, structurally chiral topological semimetals are predicted to host new types of massless fermions characterized by a large topological charge, whereas such exotic fermions are yet to be experimentally established. Here, by using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we experimentally demonstrate that a transition-metal silicide CoSi hosts two types of chiral topological fermions, a spin-1 chiral fermion and a double Weyl fermion, in the center and corner of the bulk Brillouin zone, respectively. Intriguingly, we found that the bulk Fermi surfaces are purely composed of the energy bands related to these fermions. We also find the surface states connecting the Fermi surfaces associated with these fermions, suggesting the existence of the predicted Fermi-arc surface states. Our result provides the first experimental evidence for the chiral topological fermions beyond Dirac and Weyl fermions in condensed-matter systems, and paves the pathway toward realizing exotic electronic properties associated with unconventional chiral fermions