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arXiv · 1701.04737

Lifshitz transition mediated electronic transport anomaly in bulk ZrTe5

Hang Chi·Cheng Zhang·Genda Gu·Dmitri E. Kharzeev·Xi Dai·Qiang Li
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Abstract

Zirconium pentatelluride ZrTe$_5$, a fascinating topological material platform, hosts exotic chiral fermions in its highly anisotropic three-dimensional Dirac band and holds great promise advancing the next-generation information technology. However, the origin underlying its anomalous resistivity peak has been under debate for decades. Here we provide transport evidence substantiating the anomaly to be a direct manifestation of a Lifshitz transition in the Dirac band with an ultrahigh carrier mobility exceeding 3$\times$10$^5$ cm$^2$ V$^{-1}$ s$^{-1}$. We demonstrate that the Lifshitz transition is readily controllable by means of carrier doping, which sets the anomaly peak temperature $T_p$. $T_p$ is found to scale approximately as $n_H^{0.27}$, where the Hall carrier concentration $n_H$ is linked with the Fermi level by $ε_F$ $\propto$ $n_H^{1/3}$ in a linearly dispersed Dirac band. This relation indicates $T_p$ monotonically increases with $ε_F$, which serves as an effective knob for fine tuning transport properties in pentatelluride-based Dirac semimetals.

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Hang Chi, Cheng Zhang, Genda Gu, Dmitri E. Kharzeev, Xi Dai, Qiang Li. 2017-01-18. Lifshitz transition mediated electronic transport anomaly in bulk ZrTe5. https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630%2Faa55a3

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