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1. Large anomalous Hall effect and negative magnetoresistance in half-topological semimetals

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-023-01469-6  

   Zhu, Yanglin ; Huang, Cheng-Yi ; Wang, Yu ; Graf, David ; Lin, Hsin ; Lee, Seng Huat ; Singleton, John ; Min, Lujin ; Palmstrom, Johanna C. ; Bansil, Arun ; et al ( November 2023 , Communications Physics)

   Proposed mechanisms for large intrinsic anomalous Hall effect (AHE) in magnetic topological semimetals include diverging Berry curvatures of Weyl nodes, anticrossing nodal rings or points of non-trivial bands. Here we demonstrate that a half-topological semimetal (HTS) state near a topological critical point can provide an alternative mechanism for a large AHE via systematic studies on an antiferromagnetic (AFM) half-Heusler compound TbPdBi. We not only observe a large AHE with tanΘ^H≈ 2 in its field-driven ferromagnetic (FM) phase, but also find a distinct Hall resistivity peak in its canted AFM phase. Moreover, we observe a large negative magnetoresistance with a value of ~98%. Our in-depth theoretical modelling indicates that these exotic transport properties originate from the HTS state which exhibits Berry curvature cancellation between the trivial spin-up and nontrivial spin-down bands. Our study offers alternative strategies for improved materials design for spintronics and other applications.

    

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2. Realization of a Type‐II Nodal‐Line Semimetal in Mg 3 Bi 2

   https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.201800897  

   Chang, Tay‐Rong ; Pletikosic, Ivo ; Kong, Tai ; Bian, Guang ; Huang, Angus ; Denlinger, Jonathan ; Kushwaha, Satya K. ; Sinkovic, Boris ; Jeng, Horny‐Tay ; Valla, Tonica ; et al ( November 2018 , Advanced Science)

   Nodal‐line semimetals (NLSs) represent a new type of topological semimetallic phase beyond Weyl and Dirac semimetals in the sense that they host closed loops or open curves of band degeneracies in the Brillouin zone. Parallel to the classification of type‐I and type‐II Weyl semimetals, there are two types of NLSs. The type‐I NLS phase has been proposed and realized in many compounds, whereas the exotic type‐II NLS phase that strongly violates Lorentz symmetry has remained elusive. First‐principles calculations show that Mg₃Bi₂is a material candidate for the type‐II NLS. The band crossing is close to the Fermi level and exhibits the type‐II nature of the nodal line in this material. Spin–orbit coupling generates only a small energy gap (≈35 meV) at the nodal points and does not negate the band dispersion of Mg₃Bi₂that yields the type‐II nodal line. Based on this prediction, Mg₃Bi₂single crystals are synthesized and the presence of the type‐II nodal lines in the material is confirmed. The angle‐resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements agree well with the first‐principles results below the Fermi level and thus strongly suggest Mg₃Bi₂as an ideal material platform for studying the as‐yet unstudied properties of type‐II nodal‐line semimetals.

    

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3. High-pressure induced Weyl semimetal phase in 2D Tellurium

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-023-01460-1  

   Niu, Chang ; Zhang, Zhuocheng ; Graf, David ; Lee, Seungjun ; Wang, Mingyi ; Wu, Wenzhuo ; Low, Tony ; Ye, Peide D. ( November 2023 , Communications Physics)

   Relativistic Weyl fermion quasiparticles in Weyl semimetal bring the electron’s chirality degree of freedom into the electrical transport and give rise to exotic phenomena. A topological phase transition from a topological trivial phase to a topological non-trivial phase offers a route to control electronic devices through its topological properties. Here, we report the Weyl semimetal phase in hydrothermally grown two-dimensional Tellurium (2D Te) induced by high hydrostatic pressure (up to 2.47 GPa). The unique chiral crystal structure gives rise to chiral fermions with different topological chiral charges ($${{C}}=-{{1}},+{{1}},{{and}}-{{2}}$$$C=-1,+1,and-2$). The highly tunable chemical potential in 2D Te provides comprehensive information for understanding the pressure-dependent electron band structure. The pressure-induced insulator-to-metal transition, two-carrier transport, and the non-trivial π Berry phase shift in quantum oscillations are observed in the 2D Te Weyl semimetal phase. Our work demonstrates the pressure-induced bandgap closing in the inversion asymmetric narrow bandgap semiconductor 2D Te.

    

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4. Topological quadratic-node semimetal in a photonic microring lattice

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38861-3  

   Gao, Zihe ; Zhao, Haoqi ; Wu, Tianwei ; Feng, Xilin ; Zhang, Zhifeng ; Qiao, Xingdu ; Chiu, Ching-Kai ; Feng, Liang ( December 2023 , Nature Communications)

   Graphene, with its two linearly dispersing Dirac points with opposite windings, is the minimal topological nodal configuration in the hexagonal Brillouin zone. Topological semimetals with higher-order nodes beyond the Dirac points have recently attracted considerable interest due to their rich chiral physics and their potential for the design of next-generation integrated devices. Here we report the experimental realization of the topological semimetal with quadratic nodes in a photonic microring lattice. Our structure hosts a robust second-order node at the center of the Brillouin zone and two Dirac points at the Brillouin zone boundary—the second minimal configuration, next to graphene, that satisfies the Nielsen–Ninomiya theorem. The symmetry-protected quadratic nodal point, together with the Dirac points, leads to the coexistence of massive and massless components in a hybrid chiral particle. This gives rise to unique transport properties, which we demonstrate by directly imaging simultaneous Klein and anti-Klein tunnelling in the microring lattice.

    

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5. Optical signatures of multifold fermions in the chiral topological semimetal CoSi

   https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2010752117  

   Xu, Bing ; Fang, Zhenyao ; Sánchez-Martínez, Miguel-Ángel ; Venderbos, Jorn W. F. ; Ni, Zhuoliang ; Qiu, Tian ; Manna, Kaustuv ; Wang, Kefeng ; Paglione, Johnpierre ; Bernhard, Christian ; et al ( October 2020 , Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)

   We report the optical conductivity in high-quality crystals of the chiral topological semimetal CoSi, which hosts exotic quasiparticles known as multifold fermions. We find that the optical response is separated into several distinct regions as a function of frequency, each dominated by different types of quasiparticles. The low-frequency intraband response is captured by a narrow Drude peak from a high-mobility electron pocket of double Weyl quasiparticles, and the temperature dependence of the spectral weight is consistent with its Fermi velocity. By subtracting the low-frequency sharp Drude and phonon peaks at low temperatures, we reveal two intermediate quasilinear interband contributions separated by a kink at 0.2 eV. Using Wannier tight-binding models based on first-principle calculations, we link the optical conductivity above and below 0.2 eV to interband transitions near the double Weyl fermion and a threefold fermion, respectively. We analyze and determine the chemical potential relative to the energy of the threefold fermion, revealing the importance of transitions between a linearly dispersing band and a flat band. More strikingly, below 0.1 eV our data are best explained if spin-orbit coupling is included, suggesting that at these energies, the optical response is governed by transitions between a previously unobserved fourfold spin-3/2 node and a Weyl node. Our comprehensive combined experimental and theoretical study provides a way to resolve different types of multifold fermions in CoSi at different energy. More broadly, our results provide the necessary basis to interpret the burgeoning set of optical and transport experiments in chiral topological semimetals.

    

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