Electron-hole tunneling revealed by quantum oscillations in the nodal-line semimetal HfSiS


Abstract in English

We report a study of quantum oscillations in the high-field magneto-resistance of the nodal-line semimetal HfSiS. In the presence of a magnetic field up to 31 T parallel to the c-axis, we observe quantum oscillations originating both from orbits of individual electron and hole pockets, and from magnetic breakdown between these pockets. In particular, we find an oscillation associated with a breakdown orbit enclosing one electron and one hole pocket in the form of a `figure of eight. This observation represents an experimental confirmation of the momentum space analog of Klein tunneling. When the c-axis and the magnetic field are misaligned with respect to one another, this oscillation rapidly decreases in intensity. Finally, we extract the cyclotron masses from the temperature dependence of the oscillations, and find that the mass of the figure of eight orbit corresponds to the sum of the individual pockets, consistent with theoretical predictions for Klein tunneling in topological semimetals.

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