Analysis of the unconventional chiral fermions in a non-centrosymmetric chiral crystal $\textbf {PtAl}$

Abstract

Symmetry-protected non-trivial states in chiral topological materials hold immense potential for fundamental science and technological advances. Here, we report electrical transport, quantum oscillations, and electronic structure results of a single crystal of chiral quantum material $\rm PtAl$. Based on the de Haas-van Alphen (dHvA) oscillations, we show that the smallest Fermi pocket ($\alpha$) possesses a non-trivial Berry phase $1.16$$\pi$. The band associated with this Fermi pocket carries a linear energy dispersion over a substantial energy window of $\sim$700 meV that is further consistent with the calculated optical conductivity. First-principles calculations unfold that $\rm PtAl$ is a higher-fold chiral fermion semimetal where structural chirality drives the chiral fermions to lie at the high-symmetry $\Gamma$ and $R$ points of the cubic Brillouin zone. In the absence of spin-orbit coupling, the band crossings at $\Gamma$ and $\rm R$ points are three- and four-fold degenerate with a chiral charge of $-2$ and $+2$, respectively. The inclusion of spin-orbit coupling transforms these crossing points into four- and six-fold degenerate points with a chiral charge of $-4$ and $+4$. Nontrivial surface states on the $(001)$ plane connect the bulk projected chiral points through the long helical Fermi arcs that spread over the entire Brillouin zone.