Quasi-symmetry protected topology in a semi-metal

Quantum oscillations of the quasiparticle lifetime in a metal

Following nearly a century of research, it remains a puzzle that the low-lying excitations of metals are remarkably well explained by effective single-particle theories of non-interacting bands1-4. The abundance of interactions in real materials raises the question of direct spectroscopic signatures of phenomena beyond effective single-particle, single-band behaviour. Here we report the identification of quantum oscillations (QOs) in the three-dimensional topological semimetal CoSi, which defy the standard description in two fundamental aspects. First, the oscillation frequency corresponds to the difference of semiclassical quasiparticle (QP) orbits of two bands, which are forbidden as half of the trajectory would oppose the Lorentz force. Second, the oscillations exist up to above 50 K, in strong contrast to all other oscillatory components, which vanish below a few kelvin. Our findings are in excellent agreement with generic model calculations of QOs of the QP lifetime (QPL). Because the only precondition for their existence is a nonlinear coupling of at least two electronic orbits, for example, owing to QP scattering on defects or collective excitations, such QOs of the QPL are generic for any metal featuring Landau quantization with several orbits. They are consistent with certain frequencies in topological semimetals5-9, unconventional superconductors10,11, rare-earth compounds12-14 and Rashba systems15, and permit to identify and gauge correlation phenomena, for example, in two-dimensional materials16,17 and multiband metals18.

Disorder-Induced Magnetotransport Anomalies in Amorphous and Textured Co1-xSix Semimetal Thin Films

In recent times the chiral semimetal cobalt monosilicide (CoSi) has emerged as a prototypical, nearly ideal topological conductor hosting giant, topologically protected Fermi arcs. Exotic topological quantum properties have already been identified in CoSi bulk single crystals. However, CoSi is also known for being prone to intrinsic disorder and inhomogeneities, which, despite topological protection, risk jeopardizing its topological transport features. Alternatively, topology may be stabilized by disorder, suggesting the tantalizing possibility of an amorphous variant of a topological metal, yet to be discovered. In this respect, understanding how microstructure and stoichiometry affect magnetotransport properties is of pivotal importance, particularly in case of low-dimensional CoSi thin films and devices. Here we comprehensively investigate the magnetotransport and magnetic properties of ≈25 nm Co_1-xSi_x thin films grown on a MgO substrate with controlled film microstructure (amorphous vs textured) and chemical composition (0.40 < x < 0.60). The resistivity of Co_1-xSi_x thin films is nearly insensitive to the film microstructure and displays a progressive evolution from metallic-like (dρ_xx/dT > 0) to semiconducting-like (dρ_xx/dT < 0) regimes of conduction upon increasing the silicon content. A variety of anomalies in the magnetotransport properties, comprising for instance signatures consistent with quantum localization and electron-electron interactions, anomalous Hall and Kondo effects, and the occurrence of magnetic exchange interactions, are attributable to the prominent influence of intrinsic structural and chemical disorder. Our systematic survey brings to attention the complexity and the challenges involved in the prospective exploitation of the topological chiral semimetal CoSi in nanoscale thin films and devices.

Multi-Fold Fan-Shape Surface State Induced by an Isolated Weyl Phonon Beyond No-Go Theorem

Absence of any surface arc state has been regarded as the fundamental property of singular Weyl points, because they are circumvented from the Nielsen-Ninomiya no-go theorem. In this work, through systematic investigations on topological properties of isolated Weyl phonons (IWPs) surrounded by closed Weyl nodal walls (WNWs), which are located at the Brillouin zone (BZ) boundaries of bosonic systems, it uncovers that a new kind of phononic surface state, that is, the multi-fold fan-shape surface state named by us, is exhibited to connect the projections of IWP and WNWs. Importantly, the number of fan leaves in this surface state is associated with the Chern number of IWP. Moreover, the topological features of charge-two IWP in K₂ Mg₂ O₃ (SG No. 96) and charge-four IWP in Nb₃ Al₂ N (SG No. 213) confirm further the above fundamental properties of this kind of surface state. The theoretical work not only provides an effective way to seek for IWPs as well as to determine their Chern number in real materials, but also uncovers a new class of surface states in the topological Weyl complex composed of IWPs and WNWs.

Atomically Sharp Internal Interface in a Chiral Weyl Semimetal Nanowire

Internal interfaces in Weyl semimetals (WSMs) are predicted to host distinct topological features that are different from the commonly studied external interfaces (crystal-to-vacuum boundaries). However, the lack of atomically sharp and crystallographically oriented internal interfaces in WSMs makes it difficult to experimentally investigate topological states buried inside the material. Here, we study a unique internal interface known as merohedral twin boundary in chemically synthesized single-crystal nanowires (NWs) of CoSi, a chiral WSM of space group P2₁3 (No. 198). Scanning transmission electron microscopy reveals that this internal interface is a (001) twin plane which connects two enantiomeric counterparts at an atomically sharp interface with inversion twinning. Ab initio calculations show localized internal Fermi arcs at the (001) twin plane that can be clearly distinguished from both external Fermi arcs and bulk states. These merohedrally twinned CoSi NWs provide an ideal platform to explore topological properties associated with internal interfaces in WSMs.

Duality, Hidden Symmetry, and Dynamic Isomerism in 2D Hinge Structures

Recently, a new type of duality was reported in some deformable mechanical networks that exhibit Kramers-like degeneracy in phononic spectrum at the self-dual point. In this work, we clarify the origin of this duality and propose a design principle of 2D self-dual structures with arbitrary complexity. We find that this duality originates from the partial central inversion (PCI) symmetry of the hinge, which belongs to a more general end-fixed scaling transformation. This symmetry gives the structure an extra degree of freedom without modifying its dynamics. This results in dynamic isomers, i.e., dissimilar 2D mechanical structures, either periodic or aperiodic, having identical dynamic modes, based on which we demonstrate a new type of wave guide without reflection or loss. Moreover, the PCI symmetry allows us to design various 2D periodic isostatic networks with hinge duality. At last, by further studying a 2D nonmechanical magnonic system, we show that the duality and the associated hidden symmetry should exist in a broad range of Hamiltonian systems.

Network of Topological Nodal Planes, Multifold Degeneracies, and Weyl Points in CoSi

We showcase the importance of global band topology in a study of the Weyl semimetal CoSi as a representative of chiral space group (SG) 198. We identify a network of band crossings comprising topological nodal planes, multifold degeneracies, and Weyl points consistent with the fermion doubling theorem. To confirm these findings, we combined the general analysis of the band topology of SG 198 with Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations and material-specific calculations of the electronic structure and Berry curvature. The observation of two nearly dispersionless Shubnikov-de Haas frequency branches provides unambiguous evidence of four Fermi surface sheets at the R point that reflect the symmetry-enforced orthogonality of the underlying wave functions at the intersections with the nodal planes. Hence, irrespective of the spin-orbit coupling strength, SG 198 features always six- and fourfold degenerate crossings at R and Γ that are intimately connected to the topological charges distributed across the network.