Topological phase transition in a magnetic Weyl semimetal

Liu DF, Xu QN, Liu EK, Shen JL, Le CC, Li YW, Pei D, Liang AJ, Dudin P, Kim TK, Cacho C, Xu YF, Sun Y, Yang LX, Liu ZK, Felser C, Parkin SSP, Chen YL (2021)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2021

Journal

Physical Review B American Physical Society

Book Volume: 104

Article Number: 205140

Journal Issue: 20

DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.104.205140

Abstract

Topological Weyl semimetals (TWSs) are exotic crystals possessing emergent relativistic Weyl fermions connected by unique surface Fermi arcs (SFAs) in their electronic structures. To realize the TWS state, certain symmetries (such as the inversion or time reversal symmetry) must be broken, leading to a topological phase transition (TPT). Despite the great importance in understanding the formation of TWSs and their unusual properties, direct observation of such a TPT has been challenging. Here, using a recently discovered magnetic TWS Co3Sn2S2, we were able to systematically study its TPT with detailed temperature dependence of the electronic structures by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. The TPT with drastic band structure evolution was clearly observed across the Curie temperature (TC=177K), including the disappearance of the characteristic SFAs and the recombination of the spin-split bands that leads to the annihilation of Weyl points with opposite chirality. These results not only reveal important insights on the interplay between the magnetism and band topology in TWSs, but also provide a method to control their exotic physical properties.

Involved external institutions

Max-Planck-Institut für Mikrostrukturphysik (MSP) / Max Planck Institute for Microstructure Physics DE Germany (DE) Max-Planck-Institut für Chemische Physik fester Stoffe (MPI CPfS) / Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids DE Germany (DE) Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) / 中国科学院 CN China (CN) University of Oxford GB United Kingdom (GB) ShanghaiTech University / 上海科技大学 CN China (CN) Diamond Light Source GB United Kingdom (GB) Tsinghua University CN China (CN)

How to cite

APA:

Liu, D.F., Xu, Q.N., Liu, E.K., Shen, J.L., Le, C.C., Li, Y.W.,... Chen, Y.L. (2021). Topological phase transition in a magnetic Weyl semimetal. Physical Review B, 104(20). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.104.205140

MLA:

Liu, D. F., et al. "Topological phase transition in a magnetic Weyl semimetal." Physical Review B 104.20 (2021).

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