No Arabic abstract
Topological semimetals recently stimulate intense research activities. Combining first-principles calculations and effective model analysis, we predict that CaTe is topological node-line semimetal when spin-orbit coupling (SOC) is ignored. We also obtain the nearly flat surface state which has the drumhead characteristic. When SOC is included, three node lines evolve into a pair of Dirac points along the $M-R$ line. These Dirac points are robust and protected by $C_{4}$ rotation symmetry. Once this crystal symmetry is broken, the Dirac points will be eliminated, and the system becomes a strong topological insulator.
We have performed angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy on HfSiS, which has been predicted to be a topological line-node semimetal with square Si lattice. We found a quasi-two-dimensional Fermi surface hosting bulk nodal lines, alongside the surface states at the Brillouin-zone corner exhibiting a sizable Rashba splitting and band-mass renormalization due to many-body interactions. Most notably, we discovered an unexpected Dirac-like dispersion extending one-dimensionally in k space - the Dirac-node arc - near the bulk node at the zone diagonal. These novel Dirac states reside on the surface and could be related to hybridizations of bulk states, but currently we have no explanation for its origin. This discovery poses an intriguing challenge to the theoretical understanding of topological line-node semimetals.
We present a prediction of the Dirac semimetal (DSM) phase in MgTa2N3 based on first-principles calculations and symmetry analysis. In this material, the Fermi level is located exactly at the Dirac point without additional Fermi surface pockets. The band inversion associated with the Dirac cone involves the d orbitals of two structurally inequivalent Ta atoms with octahedral and trigonal prismatic coordination spheres. We further show that the lattice symmetry breaking can realize topological phase transitions from the DSM phase to a triple nodal point semimetal, Weyl semimetal or topological insulator. The topologically protected surface states and the non-protected Fermi arc surface states are also studied.
Dirac line node (DLN) semimetals are a class of topological semimetals that feature band-crossing lines in momentum space. We study the type-I and type-II classification of DLN semimetals by developing a criterion that determines the type using band velocities. Using first-principles calculations, we also predict that Na3N under an epitaxial tensile strain realizes a type-II DLN semimetal with vanishing spin-orbit coupling (SOC), characterized by the Berry phase that is Z2-quantized in the presence of inversion and time-reversal symmetries. The surface energy spectrum is calculated to demonstrate the topological phase, and the type-II nature is demonstrated by calculating the band velocities. We also develop a tight-binding model and a low-energy effective Hamiltonian that describe the low-energy electronic structure of strained Na3N. The occurrence of a DLN in Na3N under strain is captured in the optical conductivity, which we propose as a means to experimentally confirm the type-II class of the DLN semimetal.
Graphene, a two dimensional (2D) carbon sheet, acquires many of its amazing properties from the Dirac point nature of its electronic structures with negligible spin-orbit coupling. Extending to 3D space, graphene networks with negative curvature, called Mackay-Terrones crystals (MTC), have been proposed and experimentally explored, yet their topological properties remain to be discovered. Based on the first-principle calculations, we report an all-carbon MTC with topologically non-trivial electronic states by exhibiting node-lines in bulk. When the node-lines are projected on to surfaces to form circles, drumhead like flat surface bands nestled inside of the circles are formed. The bulk node-line can evolve into 3D Dirac point in the absence of inversion symmetry, which has shown its plausible existence in recent experiments.
Three-dimensional (3D) topological Dirac semimetals (TDSs) represent a novel state of quantum matter that can be viewed as 3D graphene. In contrast to two-dimensional (2D) Dirac fermions in graphene or on the surface of 3D topological insulators, TDSs possess 3D Dirac fermions in the bulk. The TDS is also an important boundary state mediating numerous novel quantum states, such as topological insulators, Weyl semi-metals, Axion insulators and topological superconductors. By investigating the electronic structure of Na3Bi with angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we discovered 3D Dirac fermions with linear dispersions along all momentum directions for the first time. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the 3D Dirac fermions in Na3Bi were protected by the bulk crystal symmetry. Our results establish that Na3Bi is the first model system of 3D TDSs, which can also serve as an ideal platform for the systematic study of quantum phase transitions between rich novel topological quantum states.