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arXiv · 1708.03320

Thermodynamic signatures for the existence of Dirac electrons in ZrTe5

Nityan L. Nair·Philipp T. Dumitrescu·Sanyum Channa·Sinead M. Griffin·Jeffrey B. Neaton·Andrew C. Potter·James G. Analytis
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Abstract

We combine transport, magnetization, and torque magnetometry measurements to investigate the electronic structure of ZrTe5 and its evolution with temperature. At fields beyond the quantum limit, we observe a magnetization reversal from paramagnetic to diamagnetic response, which is characteristic of a Dirac semi-metal. We also observe a strong non-linearity in the magnetization that suggests the presence of additional low-lying carriers from other low-energy bands. Finally, we observe a striking sensitivity of the magnetic reversal to temperature that is not readily explained by simple band-structure models, but may be connected to a temperature dependent Lifshitz transition proposed to exist in this material.

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Nityan L. Nair, Philipp T. Dumitrescu, Sanyum Channa, Sinead M. Griffin, Jeffrey B. Neaton, Andrew C. Potter, James G. Analytis. 2017-08-10. Thermodynamic signatures for the existence of Dirac electrons in ZrTe5. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.97.041111

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