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Register a new userRobust surface states and coherence phenomena in magnetically alloyed SmB6
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Samarium hexaboride is a candidate for the topological Kondo insulator state, in which Kondo coherence is predicted to give rise to an insulating gap spanned by topological surface states. Here we investigate the surface and bulk electronic properties of magnetically alloyed Sm1-xMxB6 (M=Ce, Eu), using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and complementary characterization techniques. Remarkably, topologically nontrivial bulk and surface band structures are found to persist in highly modified samples with up to 30% Sm substitution, and to coexist with antiferromagnetism in the case of Eu doping. The results are interpreted in terms of a hierarchy of energy scales, in which surface state emergence is linked to the formation of a direct Kondo gap, while low temperature transport trends depend on the indirect gap.
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SmB6 has been predicted and verified as a prototype of topological Kondo insulators (TKIs). Here we report longitudinal magnetoresistance and Hall coefficient measurements on co-sputtered nanocrystalline SmB6 films and try to find possible signatures of their topological properties. The magnetoresistance (MR) at 2 K is positive and linear (LPMR) at low field and becomes negative and quadratic at higher field. While the negative part is known from the reduction of the hybridization gap due to Zeeman splitting, the positive dependence is similar to what has been observed in other topological insulators (TI). We conclude that the LPMR is a characteristic feature of TI and is related to the linear dispersion near the Dirac cone. The Hall resistance shows a sign change around 50 K. It peaks and becomes nonlinear at around 10 K then decreases below 10 K. This indicates that carriers with opposite signs emerge below 50 K. Two films with different geometries (thickness and lateral dimension) show contrasting behavior below and above 50K, which proves the surface origin of the low temperature carriers in these films. The temperature dependence of magnetoresistance and the Hall data indicates that the surface states are likely non-trivial.
Recently, the resistance saturation at low temperature in Kondo insulator SmB6, a long-standing puzzle in condensed matter physics, was proposed to originate from topological surface state. Here,we systematically studied the magnetoresistance of SmB6 at low temperature up to 55 Tesla. Both temperature- and angular-dependent magnetoresistances show a similar crossover behavior below 5 K. Furthermore, the angular-dependent magnetoresistance on different crystal face confirms a two-dimensional surface state as the origin of magnetoresistances crossover below 5K. Based on two-channels model consisting of both surface and bulk states, the field-dependence of bulk gap with critical magnetic field (Hc) of 196 T is extracted from our temperature-dependent resistance under different magnetic fields. Our results give a consistent picture to understand the low-temperature transport behavior in SmB6, consistent with topological Kondo insulator scenario.
A topological insulator (TI) is an unusual quantum state in which the insulating bulk is topologically distinct from vacuum, resulting in a unique metallic surface that is robust against time-reversal invariant perturbations. These surface transport properties, however, remains difficult to be isolated from the bulk in existing TI crystals (Bi2Se3, Bi2Te3 and Sb2Te3) due to impurity caused bulk conduction. We report in large crystals of topological Kondo insulator (TKI) candidate material SmB6 the thickness-independent surface Hall effects and non- local transport, which are robust against perturbations including mechanical abrasion. These results serve as proof that at low temperatures SmB6 has a robust metallic surface that surrounds a truly insulating bulk, paving the way for transport studies of the surface state in this proposed TKI material. ([email protected]).
The proximity effect at the interface between a topological insulator (TI) and a superconductor is predicted to give rise to chiral topological superconductivity and Majorana fermion excitations. In most TIs studied to date, however, the conducting bulk states have overwhelmed the transport properties and precluded the investigation of the interplay of the topological surface state and Cooper pairs. Here, we demonstrate the superconducting proximity effect in the surface state of SmB6 thin films which display bulk insulation at low temperatures. The Fermi velocity in the surface state deduced from the proximity effect is found to be as large as 10^5 m/s, in good agreement with the value obtained from a separate transport measurement. We show that high transparency between the TI and a superconductor is crucial for the proximity effect. The finding here opens the door to investigation of exotic quantum phenomena using all-thin-film multilayers with high-transparency interfaces.
The mixed valent compound SmB6 is of high current interest as the first candidate example of topologically protected surface states in a strongly correlated insulator and also as a possible host for an exotic bulk many-body state that would manifest properties of both an insulator and a metal. Two different de Haas van Alphen (dHvA) experiments have each supported one of these possibilities, while angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) for the (001) surface has supported the first, but without quantitative agreement to the dHvA results. We present new ARPES data for the (110) surface and a new analysis of all published dHvA data and thereby bring ARPES and dHvA into substantial consistency around the basic narrative of two dimensional surface states.
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