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Xiaoting Zhou

Publications and source records attributed to Xiaoting Zhou.

26 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
arXiv2018

Topological crystalline insulator states in the Ca$_2$As family

Topological crystalline insulators (TCI) are insulating electronic phases of matter with nontrivial topology originating from crystalline symmetries. Recent theoretical advances have provided powerful guidelines to search for TCIs in real materials. Using density functional theory, we identify a class of new TCI states in the tetragonal lattice of the Ca$_2$As material family. On both top and side surfaces, we observe topological surface states protected independently by rotational and mirror symmetries. We show that a particular lattice distortion can single out the newly proposed topological protection by the rotational symmetry. As a result, the Dirac points of the topological surface states are moved to generic locations in momentum space away from any high symmetry lines. Such topological surface states have not been seen before. Moreover, the other family members, including Ca$_2$Sb, Ca$_2$Bi and Sr$_2$Sb, feature different topological surface states due to their distinct topological invariants. We thus further propose topological phase transitions in the pseudo-binary systems such as (Ca$_{1-x}$Sr$_x$)$_2$As and Ca$_2$As$_x$Sb$_{1-x}$. Our work reveals rich and exotic TCI physics across the Ca$_2$As family of materials, and suggests the feasibility of materials database search methods to discover new TCIs.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗
arXiv2018

Nonsymmorphic cubic Dirac point and crossed nodal rings across the ferroelectric phase transition in LiOsO$_3$

Crystalline symmetries can generate exotic band-crossing features, which can lead to unconventional fermionic excitations with interesting physical properties. We show how a cubic Dirac point---a four-fold-degenerate band-crossing point with cubic dispersion in a plane and a linear dispersion in the third direction---can be stabilized through the presence of a nonsymmorphic glide mirror symmetry in the space group of the crystal. Notably, the cubic Dirac point in our case appears on a threefold axis, even though it has been believed previously that such a point can only appear on a sixfold axis. We show that a cubic Dirac point involving a threefold axis can be realized close to the Fermi level in the non-ferroelectric phase of LiOsO$_3$. Upon lowering temperature, LiOsO$_3$ has been shown experimentally to undergo a structural phase transition from the non-ferroelectric phase to the ferroelectric phase with spontaneously broken inversion symmetry. Remarkably, we find that the broken symmetry transforms the cubic Dirac point into three mutually-crossed nodal rings. There also exist several linear Dirac points in the low-energy band structure of LiOsO$_3$, each of which is transformed into a single nodal ring across the phase transition.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗
arXiv2017

Topological Hopf and chain link semimetal states and their application to Co2MnGa (Theory and Materials Prediction)

Topological semimetals can be classified by the connectivity and dimensionality of the band cross- ing in momentum space. The band crossings of a Dirac, Weyl, or an unconventional fermion semimet- al are 0D points, whereas the band crossings of a nodal-line semimetal are 1D closed loops. Here we propose that the presence of perpendicular crystalline mirror planes can protect 3D band crossings characterized by nontrivial links such as a Hopf link or a coupled-chain, giving rise to a variety of new types of topological semimetals. We show that the nontrivial winding number protects topolog- ical surface states distinct from those in previously known topological semimetals with a vanishing spin-orbit interaction. We also show that these nontrivial links can be engineered by tuning the mirror eigenvalues associated with the perpendicular mirror planes. Using first-principles band structure calculations, we predict the ferromagnetic full Heusler compound Co2MnGa as a candidate. Both Hopf link and chain-like bulk band crossings and unconventional topological surface states are identified.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2017

Saddle-like topological surface states on the TT'X family of compounds (T, T' = Transition metal, X= Si, Ge)

Topological nodal-line semimetals are exotic conductors that host symmetry-protected conducting nodal-lines in their bulk electronic spectrum and nontrivial drumhead states on the surface. Based on first-principles calculations and an effective model analysis, we identify the presence of topological nodal-line semimetal states in the TT'X family of compounds (T, T' = transition metal, X= Si, or Ge) in the absence of spin-orbit coupling (SOC). Taking ZrPtGe as an exemplar system, we show that this material harbors a single nodal line on the $k_y=0$ plane, which is protected by the $M_y$ mirror plane symmetry. Surface electronic structure calculations further reveal the existence of a drumhead surface state nested inside the nodal line projection on the (010) surface with a saddle-like energy dispersion. When the SOC is included, the nodal line gaps out and the system transitions to a strong topological insulator state with $Z_2=(1;000)$. The topological surface state evolves from the drumhead surface state via the sharing of its saddle-like energy dispersion within the bulk energy gap. These features differ remarkably from those of the currently known topological surface states in topological insulators such as Bi$_2$Se$_3$ with Dirac-cone-like energy dispersions.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗
arXiv2016

Quadratic band touching points and flat bands in two-dimensional topological Floquet systems

In this work we theoretically study, using Floquet-Bloch theory, the influence of circularly and linearly polarized light on two-dimensional band structures with Dirac and quadratic band touching points, and flat bands, taking the nearest neighbor hopping model on the kagome lattice as an example. We find circularly polarized light can invert the ordering of this three band model, while leaving the flat-band dispersionless. We find a small gap is also opened at the quadratic band touching point by 2-photon and higher order processes. By contrast, linearly polarized light splits the quadratic band touching point (into two Dirac points) by an amount that depends only on the amplitude and polarization direction of the light, independent of the frequency, and generally renders dispersion to the flat band. The splitting is perpendicular to the direction of the polarization of the light. We derive an effective low-energy theory that captures these key results. Finally, we compute the frequency dependence of the optical conductivity for this 3-band model and analyze the various interband contributions of the Floquet modes. Our results suggest strategies for optically controlling band structure and interaction strength in real systems.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2009

Quasiparticle scattering in two dimensional helical liquid

We study the quasiparticle interference (QPI) patterns caused by scattering off nonmagnetic, magnetic point impurities, and edge impurities, separately, in a two dimensional helical liquid, which describes the surface states of a topological insulator. The unique features associated with hexagonal warping effects are identified in the QPI patterns of charge density with nonmagnetic impurities and spin density with magnetic impurities. The symmetry properties of the QPI patterns can be used to determine the symmetry of microscopic models. The Friedel oscillation is calculated for edge impurities and the decay of the oscillation is not universal, strongly depending on Fermi energy. Some discrepancies between our theoretical results and current experimental observations are discussed.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2009

Quasiparticle Scattering Interference in Superconducting Iron-pnictides

Using both two orbital and five orbital models, we investigate the quasiparticle interference (QPI) patterns in the superconducting (SC) state of iron-based superconductors. We compare the results for nonmagnetic and magnetic impurities in sign-changed s-wave $\cos(k_x)\cdot\cos(k_y)$ and sign-unchanged $|\cos(k_x)\cdot\cos(k_y)|$ SC states. While the patterns strongly depend on the chosen band structures, the sensitivity of peaks around $(\pmπ,0)$ and $(0,\pmπ)$ wavevectors on magnetic or non-magnetic impurity, and sign change or sign unchanged SC orders is common in two models. Our results strongly suggest that QPI may provide direct information of band structures and evidence of the pairing symmetry in the SC states.

cond-mat.supr-con↗