No Arabic abstract
By using a combination of heteroepitaxial growth, structure refinement based on synchrotron x-ray diffraction and first-principles calculations, we show that the symmetry-protected Dirac line nodes in the topological semimetallic perovskite SrIrO3 can be lifted simply by applying epitaxial constraints. In particular, the Dirac gap opens without breaking the Pbnm mirror symmetry. In virtue of a symmetry-breaking analysis, we demonstrate that the original symmetry protection is related to the n-glide operation, which can be selectively broken by different heteroepitaxial structures. This symmetry protection renders the nodal line a nonsymmorphic Dirac semimetallic state. The results highlight the vital role of crystal symmetry in spin-orbit-coupled correlated oxides and provide a foundation for experimental realization of topological insulators in iridate-based heterostructures.
Owing to their chiral cubic structure, exotic multifold topological excitations have been predicted and recently observed in transition metal silicides like $beta$-RhSi. Herein, we report that the topological character of RhSi is also observed in its orthorhombic $alpha$-phase which displays multiple types of Dirac nodes very close to the Fermi level ($varepsilon_F$) with the near absence of topologically trivial carriers. We discuss the symmetry analysis, band connectivity along high-symmetry lines using group representations, the band structure, and the nature of the Dirac points and nodal lines occurring near $varepsilon_F$. The de Haas-van Alphen effect (dHvA) indicates a Fermi surface in agreement with the calculations. We find an elliptically-shaped nodal line very close to $varepsilon_F$ around and near the $S$-point on the $k_y-k_z$ plane that results from the intersection of two upside-down Dirac cones. The two Dirac points of the participating Kramers degenerate bands are only 5 meV apart, hence an accessible magnetic field might induce a crossing between the spin-up partner of the upper-Dirac cone and the spin-down partner of the lower Dirac cone, possibly explaining the anomalies observed in the magnetic torque.
Previously known three-dimensional Dirac semimetals (DSs) occur in two types -- topological DSs and nonsymmorphic DSs. Here we present a novel three-dimensional DS that exhibits both features of the topological and nonsymmorphic DSs. We introduce a minimal tight-binding model for the space group 100 that describes a layered crystal made of two-dimensional planes in the $p4g$ wallpaper group. Using this model, we demonstrate that double glide-mirrors allow a noncentrosymmetric three-dimensional DS that hosts both symmetry-enforced Dirac points at time-reversal invariant momenta and twofold-degenerate Weyl nodal lines on a glide-mirror-invariant plane in momentum space. The proposed DS allows for rich topological physics manifested in both topological surface states and topological phase diagrams, which we discuss in detail. We also perform first-principles calculations to predict that the proposed DS is realized in a set of existing materials BaLa$X$B$Y_5$, where $X$ = Cu or Au, and $Y$ = O, S, or Se.
Electrons in the pyrochore iridates experience a large interaction energy in addition to a strong spin-orbit interaction. Both features make the iridates promising for realizing novel states such as the Topological Mott Insulator. The pyrochlore iridate Eu$_2$Ir$_2$O$_7$ shows a metal-insulator transition at $T_N sim$ 120 K below which a magnetically ordered state develops. Using torque magnetometry, we uncover a highly unusual magnetic response. A magnetic field $bf H$ applied in its $a$-$b$ plane produces a nonlinear magnetization $M_perp$ orthogonal to the plane. $M_perp$ displays a $d$-wave field-angle pattern consistent with octupolar order, with a handedness dictated by field cooling, leading to symmetry breaking of the chirality $omega$. A surprise is that the lobe orientation of the $d$-wave pattern is sensitive to the direction of the field when the sample is field-cooled below $T_N$, suggestive of an additional order parameter $eta$ already present at 300 K.
In nodal-line semimetals linearly dispersing states form Dirac loops in the reciprocal space, with high degree of electron-hole symmetry and almost-vanishing density of states near the Fermi level. The result is reduced electronic screening and enhanced correlations between Dirac quasiparticles. Here we investigate the electronic structure of ZrSiSe, by combining time- and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy with ab initio density functional theory (DFT) complemented by an extended Hubbard model (DFT +U +V). We show that electronic correlations are reduced on an ultrashort timescale by optical excitation of high-energy electrons-hole pairs, which transiently screen the Coulomb interaction. Our findings demonstrate an all-optical method for engineering the band structure of a quantum material.
We present a microscopic study of a doped quantum spin liquid candidate, the hyperkagome Na$_3$Ir$_3$O$_8$ compound by using $^{23}$Na NMR. We determine the intrinsic behavior of the uniform textbf{q} $ = 0$ susceptibility via shift measurements and the dynamical response by probing the spin-lattice relaxation rate. Throughout the studied temperature range, the susceptibility is consistent with a semimetal behavior, though with electronic bands substantially modified by correlations. Remarkably, the antiferromagnetic fluctuations present in the insulating parent compound Na$_4$Ir$_3$O$_8$ survive in the studied compound. The spin dynamics are consistent with 120$^o$ excitations modes displaying short-range correlations.