No Arabic abstract
Realization of semimetals with non-trivial topologies such as Dirac and Weyl semimetals, have provided a boost in the study of these quantum materials. Presence of electron correlation makes the system even more exotic due to enhanced scattering of charge carriers, Kondo screening etc. Here, we studied the electronic properties of single crystalline, SmBi employing varied state of the art bulk measurements. Magnetization data reveals two magnetic transitions; an antiferromagnetic order with a Neel temperature of ~ 9 K and a second magnetic transition at a lower temperature (= 7 K). The electrical resistivity data shows an upturn typical of a Kondo system and the estimated Kondo temperature is found to be close to the Neel temperature. High quality of the crystal enabled us to discover signature of quantum oscillation in the magnetization data even at low magnetic field. Using a Landau level fan diagram analysis, a non-trivial Berry phase is identified for a Fermi pocket revealing the topological character in this material. These results demonstrate an unique example of the Fermiology in the antiferromagnetic state and opens up a new paradigm to explore the Dirac fermion physics in correlated topological metal via interplay of Kondo interaction, topological order and magnetism.
We report a detailed magneto-transport study in single crystals of NbP. High quality crystals were grown by vapour transport method. An exceptionally large magnetoresistance is confirmed at low temperature which is non-saturating and is linear at high fields. Models explaining the linear magnetoresistance are discussed and it is argued that in NbP this is linked to charge carrier mobility fluctuations. Negative longitudinal magnetoresistance is not seen, unlike several other Weyl monopnictides, suggesting lack of well defined chiral anomaly in NbP. Unambiguous Shubnikov-de-Haas oscillations are observed at low temperatures that are correlated to Berry phases. The Landau fan diagram indicates trivial Berry phase in NbP crystals corresponding to Fermi surface extrema at 30.5 Tesla.
The $4d$ and $5d$ transition metal oxides have become important members of the emerging quantum materials family due to competition between onsite Coulomb repulsion ($U$) and spin-orbit coupling (SOC). Specifically, the systems with $d^5$ electronic configuration in an octahedral environment are found to be capable of posessing invariant semimetallic state and perturbations can lead to diverse magnetic phases. In this work, by formulating a multi-band Hubbard model and performing SOC tunable DFT+$U$ calculations on a prototype SrIrO$_3$ and extending the analysis to other iso-structural and isovalent compounds, we present eight possible electronic and magnetic configurations in the $U$-SOC phase diagram that can be observed in the family of low-spin $d^5$ perovskites. They include the protected Dirac semimetal state, metal and insulator regimes, collinear and noncollinear spin ordering. The latter is explained through connecting hopping interactions to the rotation and tilting of the octahedra as observed in GdFeO$_3$. Presence of several soft phase boundaries makes the family of $d^5$ perovskites an ideal platform to study electronic and magnetic phase transitions under external stimuli.
A study of the Fermi surface of the putative topological semimetal Pd$_3$Pb has been carried out using Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillations measured in fields of up to 60 T. Pd$_3$Pb has garnered attention in the community due to a peculiar Fermi surface that has been proposed theoretically by Ahn, Pickett, and Lee, [Phys. Rev. B 98, 035130 (2018)] to host a dispersion-less band along $X-Gamma$ as well as multiple triply-degenerate band crossings that, under the influence of spin-orbit coupling, lead to ten four-fold degenerate Dirac points. Analysis of the SdH oscillation data verifies the calculated multi-sheet Fermi surface, revealing a $Gamma$ centered spheroid that had not been resolved experimentally in prior studies. A comprehensive, angle-dependent analysis of the phase of the SdH oscillations convincingly demonstrates a non-trivial Berry phase for two bands along $Gamma-R$, supporting the theoretical predictions, while simultaneously evidencing interference between extremal orbits that mimics a trivial Berry phase at intermediate angles.
A synergistic effect between strong electron correlation and spin-orbit interaction (SOI) has been theoretically predicted to result in a new topological state of quantum matter on Kondo insulators (KIs), so-called topological Kondo insulators (TKIs). One TKI candidate has been experimentally observed on the KI SmB6(001), and the origin of the surface states (SS) and the topological order of SmB6 has been actively discussed. Here, we show a metallic SS on the clean surface of another TKI candidate YbB12(001), using angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy. The SS showed temperature-dependent reconstruction corresponding with the Kondo effect observed for bulk states. Despite the low-temperature insulating bulk, the reconstructed SS with c-f hybridization was metallic, forming a closed Fermi contour surrounding $bar{Gamma}$ on the surface Brillouin zone and agreeing with the theoretically expected behavior for SS on TKIs. These results demonstrate the temperature-dependent holistic reconstruction of two-dimensional states localized on KIs surface driven by the Kondo effect.
In real paramagnets, there is always a subtle many-body contribution to the systems energy, which can be regarded as a small effective local magnetic field $B_{loc}$. Usually, it is neglected, since it is very small when compared with thermal fluctuations and/or external magnetic fields $B$. Nevertheless, as both the temperature $T rightarrow$ 0K and $B rightarrow$ 0T, such many-body contributions become ubiquitous. Here, employing the magnetic Gruneisen parameter $Gamma_{mag}$ and entropy arguments, we report on the pivotal role played by the mutual interactions in the regime of ultra-low-$T$ and vanishing $B$. Our key results are: $i$) absence of a genuine zero-field quantum phase transition due to the presence of $B_{loc}$; $ii$) connection between the canonical definition of temperature and $Gamma_{mag}$; and $iii$) possibility of performing adiabatic magnetization by only manipulating the mutual interactions. Our findings unveil unprecedented aspects emerging from the mutual interactions.