Search Results
Signatures of Sixfold Degenerate Exotic Fermions in a Superconducting Metal PdSb2
2020, Kumar, Nitesh, Yao, Mengyu, Nayak, Jayita, Vergniory, Maia G., Bannies, Jörn, Wang, Zhijun, Schröter, Niels B.M., Strocov, Vladimir N., Müchler, Lukas, Shi, Wujun, Rienks, Emile D.L., Mañes, J.L., Shekhar, Chandra, Parkin, Stuart S.P., Fink, Jörg, Fecher, Gerhard H., Sun, Yan, Bernevig, B. Andrei, Felser, Claudia
Multifold degenerate points in the electronic structure of metals lead to exotic behaviors. These range from twofold and fourfold degenerate Weyl and Dirac points, respectively, to sixfold and eightfold degenerate points that are predicted to give rise, under modest magnetic fields or strain, to topological semimetallic behaviors. The present study shows that the nonsymmorphic compound PdSb2 hosts six-component fermions or sextuplets. Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, crossing points formed by three twofold degenerate parabolic bands are directly observed at the corner of the Brillouin zone. The group theory analysis proves that under weak spin–orbit interaction, a band inversion occurs. © 2020 The Authors. Published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Detection of antiskyrmions by topological Hall effect in Heusler compounds
2020, Kumar, Vivek, Kumar, Nitesh, Reehuis, Manfred, Gayles, Jacob, Sukhanov, A.S., Hoser, Andreas, Damay, Françoise, Shekhar, Chandra, Adler, Peter, Felser, Claudia
Heusler compounds having D2d crystal symmetry gained much attention recently due to the stabilization of a vortexlike spin texture called antiskyrmions in thin lamellae of Mn1.4Pt0.9Pd0.1Sn as reported in the work of Nayak et al. [Nature (London) 548, 561 (2017)10.1038/nature23466]. Here we show that bulk Mn1.4Pt0.9Pd0.1Sn undergoes a spin-reorientation transition from a collinear ferromagnetic to a noncollinear configuration of Mn moments below 135 K, which is accompanied by the emergence of a topological Hall effect. We tune the topological Hall effect in Pd and Rh substituted Mn1.4PtSn Heusler compounds by changing the intrinsic magnetic properties and spin textures. A unique feature of the present system is the observation of a zero-field topological Hall resistivity with a sign change which indicates the robust formation of antiskyrmions. © 2020 authors. Published by the American Physical Society.
Multiple Dirac cones at the surface of the topological metal LaBi
2017, Nayak, Jayita, Martinsson, Bengt G., Kumar, Nitesh, Shekhar, Chandra, Singh, Sanjay, Fink, Jörg, Rienks, Emile E.D., Fecher, Gerhard H., Parkin, Stuart S.P., Yan, Binghai, Felser, Claudia
The rare-earth monopnictide LaBi exhibits exotic magneto-transport properties, including an extremely large and anisotropic magnetoresistance. Experimental evidence for topological surface states is still missing although band inversions have been postulated to induce a topological phase in LaBi. In this work, we have revealed the existence of surface states of LaBi through the observation of three Dirac cones: two coexist at the corners and one appears at the centre of the Brillouin zone, by employing angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy in conjunction with ab initio calculations. The odd number of surface Dirac cones is a direct consequence of the odd number of band inversions in the bulk band structure, thereby proving that LaBi is a topological, compensated semimetal, which is equivalent to a time-reversal invariant topological insulator. Our findings provide insight into the topological surface states of LaBi’s semi-metallicity and related magneto-transport properties.