arXiv subjects

Tyler A. Cochran

Publications and source records attributed to Tyler A. Cochran.

47 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2020

Discovery of a quantum limit Chern magnet TbMn6Sn6

The quantum level interplay between geometry, topology, and correlation is at the forefront of fundamental physics. Owing to the unusual lattice geometry and breaking of time-reversal symmetry, kagome magnets are predicted to support intrinsic Chern quantum phases. However, quantum materials hosting ideal spin-orbit coupled kagome lattices with strong out-of-plane magnetization have been lacking. Here we use scanning tunneling microscopy to discover a new topological kagome magnet TbMn6Sn6, which is close to satisfying the above criteria. We visualize its effectively defect-free purely Mn-based ferromagnetic kagome lattice with atomic resolution. Remarkably, its electronic state exhibits distinct Landau quantization upon the application of a magnetic field, and the quantized Landau fan structure features spin-polarized Dirac dispersion with a large Chern gap. We further demonstrate the bulk-boundary correspondence between the Chern gap and topological edge state, as well as the Berry curvature field correspondence of Chern gapped Dirac fermions. Our results point to the realization of a quantum-limit Chern phase in TbMn6Sn6, opening up an avenue for discovering topological quantum phenomena in the RMn6Sn6 (R = rare earth element) family with a variety of magnetic structures. Our visualization of the magnetic bulk-boundary-Berry correspondence covering real and momentum space demonstrates a proof-of-principle method revealing topological magnets.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Observation of sixfold degenerate fermions in PdSb$_2$

Three types of fermions have been extensively studied in topological quantum materials: Dirac, Weyl, and Majorana fermions. Beyond the fundamental fermions in high energy physics, exotic fermions are allowed in condensed matter systems residing in three-, six- or eightfold degenerate band crossings. Here, we use angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to directly visualize three-doubly-degenerate bands in PdSb$_2$. The ultrahigh energy resolution we are able to achieve allows for the confirmation of all the sixfold degenerate bands at the R point, in remarkable consistency with first-principles calculations. Moreover, we find that this sixfold degenerate crossing has quadratic dispersion as predicted by theory. Finally, we compare sixfold degenerate fermions with previously confirmed fermions to demonstrate the importance of this work: our study indicates a topological fermion beyond the constraints of high energy physics.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Discovery of topological Weyl fermion lines and drumhead surface states in a room temperature magnet

Topological matter is known to exhibit unconventional surface states and anomalous transport owing to unusual bulk electronic topology. In this study, we use photoemission spectroscopy and quantum transport to elucidate the topology of the room temperature magnet Co$_2$MnGa. We observe sharp bulk Weyl fermion line dispersions indicative of nontrivial topological invariants present in the magnetic phase. On the surface of the magnet, we observe electronic wave functions that take the form of drumheads, enabling us to directly visualize the crucial components of the bulk-boundary topological correspondence. By considering the Berry curvature field associated with the observed topological Weyl fermion lines, we quantitatively account for the giant anomalous Hall response observed in our samples. Our experimental results suggest a rich interplay of strongly correlated electrons and topology in this quantum magnet.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Spin-orbit quantum impurity in a topological kagome magnet

Quantum states induced by single-atomic-impurities are the current frontier of material and information science. Recently the spin-orbit coupled correlated kagome magnets are emerging as a new class of topological quantum materials, although the effect of single-atomic impurities remains unexplored. Here we use state-of-the-art scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/S) to study the atomic indium impurity in a topological kagome magnet Co3Sn2S2, which is designed to support the spin-orbit quantum state. We find each impurity features a strongly localized bound state. Our systematic magnetization-polarized tunneling probe reveals its spin-down polarized nature with an unusual moment of -5uB, indicative of additional orbital magnetization. As the separation between two impurities progressively shrinks, their respective bound states interact and form quantized molecular orbital states. The molecular orbital of three neighboring impurities further exhibits an intriguing splitting owing to the combination of geometry, magnetism, and spin-orbit coupling, analogous to the splitting of the topological Weyl fermion line12,19. Our work demonstrates the quantum-level interplay between magnetism and spin-orbit coupling at an individual atomic impurity, which provides insights into the emergent impurity behavior in a topological kagome magnet and the potential of spin-orbit quantum impurities for information science.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Field-free platform for topological zero-energy mode in superconductors LiFeAs and PbTaSe$_2$

Superconducting materials exhibiting topological properties are emerging as an exciting platform to realize fundamentally new excitations from topological quantum states of matter. In this work, we explore the possibility of a field-free platform for generating Majorana zero energy excitations by depositing magnetic Fe impurities on the surface of candidate topological superconductors, LiFeAs and PbTaSe$_2$. We use scanning tunneling microscopy to probe localized states induced at the Fe adatoms on the atomic scale and at sub-Kelvin temperatures. We find that each Fe adatom generates a striking zero-energy bound state inside the superconducting gap, which do not split in magnetic fields up to 8T, underlining a nontrivial topological origin. Our findings point to magnetic Fe adatoms evaporated on bulk superconductors with topological surface states as a new platform for exploring Majorana zero modes and quantum information science under field-free conditions.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2019

Quantum phase transition of correlated iron-based superconductivity in LiFe$_{1-x}$Co$_x$As

The interplay between unconventional Cooper pairing and quantum states associated with atomic scale defects is a frontier of research with many open questions. So far, only a few of the high-temperature superconductors allow this intricate physics to be studied in a widely tunable way. We use scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) to image the electronic impact of Co atoms on the ground state of the LiFe$_{1-x}$Co$_x$As system. We observe that impurities progressively suppress the global superconducting gap and introduce low energy states near the gap edge, with the superconductivity remaining in the strong-coupling limit. Unexpectedly, the fully opened gap evolves into a nodal state before the Cooper pair coherence is fully destroyed. Our systematic theoretical analysis shows that these new observations can be quantitatively understood by the nonmagnetic Born-limit scattering effect in a s$\pm$-wave superconductor, unveiling the driving force of the superconductor to metal quantum phase transition.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2019

Topological photocurrent responses from chiral surface Fermi arcs

The nonlinear optical responses from topological semimetals are crucial in both understanding the fundamental properties of quantum materials and designing next-generation light-sensors or solar-cells. However, previous work was focusing on the optical effects from bulk states only, disregarding topological surface responses. Here we propose a new (hitherto unknown) surface-only topological photocurrent response from chiral Fermi arcs. Using the ideal topological chiral semimetal RhSi as a representative, we quantitatively compute the topologically robust photocurrents from Fermi arcs on different surfaces. By rigorous crystal symmetry analysis, we demonstrate that Fermi arc photocurrents can be perpendicular to the bulk injection currents regardless of the choice of materials' surface. We then generalize this finding to all cubic chiral space groups and predict material candidates. Our theory reveals a powerful notion where common crystalline-symmetry can be used to induce universal topological responses as well as making it possible to completely disentangle bulk and surface topological responses in many conducting material families.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Crystal growth and quantum oscillations in the topological chiral semimetal CoSi

We survey the electrical transport properties of the single-crystalline, topological chiral semimetal CoSi which was grown via different methods. High-quality CoSi single crystals were found in the growth from tellurium solution. The sample's high carrier mobility enables us to observe, for the first time, quantum oscillations (QOs) in its thermoelectrical signals. Our analysis of QOs reveals two spherical Fermi surfaces around the R point in the Brillouin zone corner. The extracted Berry phases of these electron orbits are consistent with the -2 chiral charge as reported in DFT calculations. Detailed analysis on the QOs reveals that the spin-orbit coupling induced band-splitting is less than 2 meV near the Fermi level, one order of magnitude smaller than our DFT calculation result. We also report the phonon-drag induced large Nernst effect in CoSi at intermediate temperatures.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Negative flat band magnetism in a spin-orbit coupled correlated kagome magnet

It has long been speculated that electronic flat band systems can be a fertile ground for hosting novel emergent phenomena including unconventional magnetism and superconductivity. Although flat bands are known to exist in a few systems such as heavy fermion materials and twisted bilayer graphene, their microscopic roles and underlying mechanisms in generating emergent behavior remain elusive. Here we use scanning tunneling microscopy to elucidate the atomically resolved electronic states and their magnetic response in the kagome magnet Co3Sn2S2. We observe a pronounced peak at the Fermi level, which is identified to arise from the kinetically frustrated kagome flat band. Increasing magnetic field up to +-8T, this state exhibits an anomalous magnetization-polarized Zeeman shift, dominated by an orbital moment in opposite to the field direction. Such negative magnetism can be understood as spin-orbit coupling induced quantum phase effects tied to non-trivial flat band systems. We image the flat band peak, resolve the associated negative magnetism, and provide its connection to the Berry curvature field, showing that Co3Sn2S2 is a rare example of kagome magnet where the low energy physics can be dominated by the spin-orbit coupled flat band. Our methodology of probing band-resolved ordering phenomena such as spin-orbit magnetism can also be applied in future experiments to elucidate other exotic phenomena including flat band superconductivity and anomalous quantum transport.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Discovery of topological chiral crystals with helicoid arc states

The quantum behaviour of electrons in materials lays the foundation for modern electronic and information technology. Quantum materials with novel electronic and optical properties have been proposed as the next frontier, but much remains to be discovered to actualize the promise. Here we report the first observation of topological quantum properties of chiral crystals in the RhSi family. We demonsrate that this material hosts novel phase of matter exhibiting nearly ideal topological surface properties that emerge as a consequence of the crystals' structural chirality or handedness. We also demonstrate that the electrons on the surface of this crystal show a highly unusual helicoid structure that spirals around two high-symmetry momenta signalling its topological electronic chirality. Such helicoid Fermi arcs on the surface experimentally characterize the topological charges of $\pm{2}$, which arise from the bulk chiral fermions. The existence of bulk high-fold degenerate fermions are guaranteed by the crystal symmetries, however, in order to determine the topological charge in the chiral crystals it is essential to identify and study the helical arc states. Remarkably, these topological conductors we discovered exhibit helical Fermi arcs which are of length $π$, stretching across the entire Brillouin zone and orders of magnitude larger than those found in all known Weyl semimetals. Our results demonstrate novel electronic topological state of matter on a structurally chiral crystal featuring helicoid Fermi arc surface states. The exotic electronic chiral fermion state realised in these materials can be used to detect a quantised photogalvanic optical response or the chiral magnetic effect and its optical version in future devices as described by G. Chang \textit{et.al.,} `Topological quantum properties of chiral crystals' Nature Mat. 17, 978-985 (2018).

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Giant and anisotropic many-body spin-orbit tunability in a strongly correlated kagome magnet

Owing to the unusual geometry of kagome lattices-lattices made of corner-sharing triangles-their electrons are useful for studying the physics of frustrated, correlated and topological quantum electronic states. In the presence of strong spin-orbit coupling, the magnetic and electronic structures of kagome lattices are further entangled, which can lead to hitherto unknown spin-orbit phenomena. Here we use a combination of vector-magnetic-field capability and scanning tunnelling microscopy to elucidate the spin-orbit nature of the kagome ferromagnet Fe3Sn2 and explore the associated exotic correlated phenomena. We discover that a many-body electronic state from the kagome lattice couples strongly to the vector field with three-dimensional anisotropy, exhibiting a magnetization-driven giant nematic (two-fold-symmetric) energy shift. Probing the fermionic quasi-particle interference reveals consistent spontaneous nematicity-a clear indication of electron correlation-and vector magnetization is capable of altering this state, thus controlling the many-body electronic symmetry. These spin-driven giant electronic responses go well beyond Zeeman physics and point to the realization of an underlying correlated magnetic topological phase. The tunability of this kagome magnet reveals a strong interplay between an externally applied field, electronic excitations and nematicity, providing new ways of controlling spin-orbit properties and exploring emergent phenomena in topological or quantum materials.

cond-mat.str-el↗