Interplay of magnetism and electronic band topology in unconventional magnets enables the creation and fine control of novel electronic phenomena. In this work, we use scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy to study thin films of a prototypical kagome magnet Fe3Sn2. Our experiments reveal an unusually large number of densely-spaced spectroscopic features straddling the Fermi level. These are consistent with signatures of low-energy Weyl fermions and associated topological Fermi arc surface states predicted by theory. By measuring their response as a function of magnetic field, we discover a pronounced evolution in energy tied to the magnetization direction. Electron scattering and interference imaging further demonstrates the tunable nature of a subset of related electronic states. Our experiments provide a direct visualization of how in-situ spin reorientation drives changes in the electronic density of states of the Weyl fermion band structure. Combined with previous reports of massive Dirac fermions, flat bands, and electronic nematicity, our work establishes Fe3Sn2as an interesting platform that harbors an extraordinarily wide array of topological and correlated electron phenomena.
Topological kagome magnets RMn6Sn6(R = rare earth element) attract numerous interests due to their non-trivial band topology and room-temperature magnetism. Here, we report a high entropy version of kagome magnet, (Gd0.38Tb0.27Dy0.20Ho0.15)Mn6Sn6. Such a high entropy material exhibits multiple spin reorientation transitions, which is not seen in all the related parent compounds and can be understood in terms of competing magnetic interactions enabled by high entropy. Furthermore, we also observed an intrinsic anomalous Hall effect, indicating that the high entropy phase preserves the non-trivial band topology. These results suggest that high entropy may provide a route to engineer the magnetic structure and expand the horizon of topological materials.
- Award ID(s):
- 2011839
- Publication Date:
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10363957
- Journal Name:
- Communications Physics
- Volume:
- 5
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2399-3650
- Publisher:
- Nature Publishing Group
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
Abstract -
Abstract The physical realization of Chern insulators is of fundamental and practical interest, as they are predicted to host the quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect and topologically protected chiral edge states which can carry dissipationless current. Current realizations of the QAH state often require complex heterostructures and sub-Kelvin temperatures, making the discovery of intrinsic, high temperature QAH systems of significant interest. In this work we show that time-reversal symmetry breaking Weyl semimetals, being essentially stacks of Chern insulators with inter-layer coupling, may provide a new platform for the higher temperature realization of robust chiral edge states. We present combined scanning tunneling spectroscopy and theoretical investigations of the magnetic Weyl semimetal, Co3Sn2S2. Using modeling and numerical simulations we find that depending on the strength of the interlayer coupling, chiral edge states can be localized on partially exposed kagome planes on the surfaces of a Weyl semimetal. Correspondingly, our d
I /dV maps on the kagome Co3Sn terraces show topological states confined to the edges which display linear dispersion. This work provides a new paradigm for realizing chiral edge modes and provides a pathway for the realization of higher temperature QAH effect in magnetic Weyl systems in the two-dimensional limit. -
Abstract The identification of a non-trivial band topology usually relies on directly probing the protected surface/edge states. But, it is difficult to achieve electronically in narrow-gap topological materials due to the small (meV) energy scales. Here, we demonstrate that band inversion, a crucial ingredient of the non-trivial band topology, can serve as an alternative, experimentally accessible indicator. We show that an inverted band can lead to a four-fold splitting of the non-zero Landau levels, contrasting the two-fold splitting (spin splitting only) in the normal band. We confirm our predictions in magneto-transport experiments on a narrow-gap strong topological insulator, zirconium pentatelluride (ZrTe5), with the observation of additional splittings in the quantum oscillations and also an anomalous peak in the extreme quantum limit. Our work establishes an effective strategy for identifying the band inversion as well as the associated topological phases for future topological materials research.
-
Abstract Physical systems with non-trivial topological order find direct applications in metrology (Klitzing
et al 1980Phys .Rev. Lett .45 494–7) and promise future applications in quantum computing (Freedman 2001Found. Comput. Math. 1 183–204; Kitaev 2003Ann. Phys. 303 2–30). The quantum Hall effect derives from transverse conductance, quantized to unprecedented precision in accordance with the system’s topology (Laughlin 1981Phys. Rev. B23 5632–33). At magnetic fields beyond the reach of current condensed matter experiment, aroundet al 1982Phys. Rev. Lett. 49 405–8). Hitherto, quantized conductance has only been measured in extended 2D systems. Here, we experimentally studied narrow 2D ribbons, just 3 or 5 sites wide along one direction, using ultracold neutral atoms where such large magnetic fields can be engineered (Jaksch and Zoller 2003New J. Phys .5 56; Miyakeet al 2013Phys. Rev. Lett. 111 185302; Aidelsburgeret al 2013Phys. Rev. Lett. 111 185301; Celiet al 2014Phys. Rev. Lett. 112 043001; Stuhlet al 2015Science 349 1514; Manciniet al 2015Science 349 1510; Anet al 2017Sci. Adv. 3 ). We microscopically imaged the transverse spatial motion underlying the quantized Hall effect. Our measurements identify the topological Chern numbers with typical uncertainty of -
Abstract The interplay between band topology and magnetism can give rise to exotic states of matter. For example, magnetically doped topological insulators can realize a Chern insulator that exhibits quantized Hall resistance at zero magnetic field. While prior works have focused on ferromagnetic systems, little is known about band topology and its manipulation in antiferromagnets. Here, we report that MnBi2Te4is a rare platform for realizing a canted-antiferromagnetic (cAFM) Chern insulator with electrical control. We show that the Chern insulator state with Chern number
C = 1 appears as the AFM to canted-AFM phase transition happens. The Chern insulator state is further confirmed by observing the unusual transition of theC = 1 state in the cAFM phase to theC = 2 orbital quantum Hall states in the magnetic field induced ferromagnetic phase. Near the cAFM-AFM phase boundary, we show that the dissipationless chiral edge transport can be toggled on and off by applying an electric field alone. We attribute this switching effect to the electrical field tuning of the exchange gap alignment between the top and bottom surfaces. Our work paves the way for future studies on topological cAFM spintronics and facilitates the development of proof-of-concept Chern insulator devices.
