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1. Transport of Topological Semimetals

   https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-matsci-070218-010023  

   Hu, Jin; Xu, Su-Yang; Ni, Ni; Mao, Zhiqiang (July 2019, Annual Review of Materials Research)

   Three-dimensional (3D) topological semimetals represent a new class of topological matters. The study of this family of materials has been at the frontiers of condensed matter physics, and many breakthroughs have been made. Several topological semimetal phases, including Dirac semimetals (DSMs), Weyl semimetals (WSMs), nodal-line semimetals (NLSMs), and triple-point semimetals, have been theoretically predicted and experimentally demonstrated. The low-energy excitation around the Dirac/Weyl nodal points, nodal line, or triply degenerated nodal point can be viewed as emergent relativistic fermions. Experimental studies have shown that relativistic fermions can result in a rich variety of exotic transport properties, e.g., extremely large magnetoresistance, the chiral anomaly, and the intrinsic anomalous Hall effect. In this review, we first briefly introduce band structural characteristics of each topological semimetal phase, then review the current studies on quantum oscillations and exotic transport properties of various topological semimetals, and finally provide a perspective of this area. 

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2. Robust negative longitudinal magnetoresistance and spin–orbit torque in sputtered Pt3Sn and Pt3SnxFe1-x topological semimetal

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-39408-2  

   Zhang, Delin; Jiang, Wei; Yun, Hwanhui; Benally, Onri Jay; Peterson, Thomas; Cresswell, Zach; Fan, Yihong; Lv, Yang; Yu, Guichuan; Barriocanal, Javier Garcia; et al (December 2023, Nature Communications)

   Abstract Contrary to topological insulators, topological semimetals possess a nontrivial chiral anomaly that leads to negative magnetoresistance and are hosts to both conductive bulk states and topological surface states with intriguing transport properties for spintronics. Here, we fabricate highly-ordered metallic Pt₃Sn and Pt₃Sn_xFe_1-xthin films via sputtering technology. Systematic angular dependence (both in-plane and out-of-plane) study of magnetoresistance presents surprisingly robust quadratic and linear negative longitudinal magnetoresistance features for Pt₃Sn and Pt₃Sn_xFe_1-x, respectively. We attribute the anomalous negative longitudinal magnetoresistance to the type-II Dirac semimetal phase (pristine Pt₃Sn) and/or the formation of tunable Weyl semimetal phases through symmetry breaking processes, such as magnetic-atom doping, as confirmed by first-principles calculations. Furthermore, Pt₃Sn and Pt₃Sn_xFe_1-xshow the promising performance for facilitating the development of advanced spin-orbit torque devices. These results extend our understanding of chiral anomaly of topological semimetals and can pave the way for exploring novel topological materials for spintronic devices. 

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3. 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)

   Abstract 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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4. Spin-resolved topology and partial axion angles in three-dimensional insulators

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-44762-w  

   Lin, Kuan-Sen; Palumbo, Giandomenico; Guo, Zhaopeng; Hwang, Yoonseok; Blackburn, Jeremy; Shoemaker, Daniel P.; Mahmood, Fahad; Wang, Zhijun; Fiete, Gregory A.; Wieder, Benjamin J.; et al (January 2024, Nature Communications)

   Abstract Symmetry-protected topological crystalline insulators (TCIs) have primarily been characterized by their gapless boundary states. However, in time-reversal- ($${{{{{{{\mathcal{T}}}}}}}}$$ $T$-) invariant (helical) 3D TCIs—termed higher-order TCIs (HOTIs)—the boundary signatures can manifest as a sample-dependent network of 1D hinge states. We here introduce nested spin-resolved Wilson loops and layer constructions as tools to characterize the intrinsic bulk topological properties of spinful 3D insulators. We discover that helical HOTIs realize one of three spin-resolved phases with distinct responses that are quantitatively robust to large deformations of the bulk spin-orbital texture: 3D quantum spin Hall insulators (QSHIs), “spin-Weyl” semimetals, and$${{{{{{{\mathcal{T}}}}}}}}$$ $T$-doubled axion insulator (T-DAXI) states with nontrivial partial axion angles indicative of a 3D spin-magnetoelectric bulk response and half-quantized 2D TI surface states originating from a partial parity anomaly. Using ab-initio calculations, we demonstrate thatβ-MoTe₂realizes a spin-Weyl state and thatα-BiBr hosts both 3D QSHI and T-DAXI regimes. 

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5. Electronic Transport and Interaction of Lattice Dynamics in Topological Nodalline Semimetal HfAs ₂ Single Crystals

   https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202316775  

   Muhammad, Zahir; Hussain, Ghulam; Islam, Rajbul; Zawadzka, Natalia; Hossain, Md_Shafayat; Iqbal, Obaid; Babiński, Adam; Molas, Maciej_R; Xue, Fei; Zhang, Yue; et al (June 2024, Advanced Functional Materials)

   Abstract Topological semimetals represent a novel class of quantum materials displaying non‐trivial topological states that host Dirac/Weyl fermions. The intersection of Dirac/Weyl points gives rise to essential properties in a wide range of innovative transport phenomena, including extreme magnetoresistance, high mobilities, weak antilocalization, electron hydrodynamics, and various electro‐optical phenomena. In this study, the electronic, transport, phonon scattering, and interrelationships are explored in single crystals of the topological semimetal HfAs₂. It reveals a weak antilocalization effect at low temperatures with high carrier density, which is attributed to perfectly compensated topological bulk and surface states. The angle‐resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) results show anisotropic Fermi surfaces and surface states indicative of the topological semimetal, further confirmed by first‐principle density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Moreover, the lattice dynamics in HfAs₂are investigated both with the Raman scattering and density functional theory. The phonon dispersion, density of states, lattice thermal conductivity, and the phonon lifetimes are computed to support the experimental findings. The softening of phonons, the broadening of Raman modes, and the reduction of phonon lifetimes with temperature suggest the enhancement of phonon anharmonicity in this new topological material, which is crucial for boosting the thermoelectric performance of topological semimetals. 

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