The single crystals of Weyl semimetals or candicate RAlGe (R = La, Ce, Pr and Nd) have been synthesized by self-flux method and confirmed forming in noncentrosymmetric LaPtSi type. Compared with nonmagnetic LaAlGe, the configurations of localized 4f electrons strongly dominate the magnetic, thermal and electric behaviors of other RAlGe. The main critical temperatures for magnetic transition are robust around 5.1 K, 15.4 K and 5.2 K for CeAlGe, PrAlGe and NdAlGe. PrAlGe and NdAlGe have c easy axis with similar anisotropy, but the easy direction for CeAlGe lies in a axis below 12 K. Their lambda-shaped specific heat reveal 2nd order phase transitions. The magnetic entropy for PrAlGe and NdAlGe approach to the values of Hund's ground states at about 60 K and 50 K, while that for CeAlGe reaches 87 % of Rln2 at Tc stemming from a doublet ground state. It's significant to combine multi-experiments and effective fittings to comparatively explore Weyl RAlGe family for the potential application in spintronics.
The absence of inversion symmetry in non-centrosymmetric materials has a fundamental role in the emergence of a vast number of fascinating phenomena, like ferroelectricity, second harmonic generation, and Weyl fermions. The removal of time-reversal symmetry in such systems further extends the variety of observable magneto-electric and topological effects. Here we report the striking topological properties in the non-centrosymmetric spin-orbit magnet PrAlGe by combining spectroscopy and transport measurements. By photoemission spectroscopy below the Curie temperature, we observe topological Fermi arcs that correspond to projected topological charges of ±1 in the surface Brillouin zone. In the bulk, we observe the linear energy-dispersion of the Weyl fermions. We further observe a large anomalous Hall response in our magneto-transport measurements, which is understood to arise from diverging bulk Berry curvature fields associated with the Weyl band structure. These results establish a novel Weyl semimetal phase in magnetic non-centrosymmetric PrAlGe. The search for magnetic Weyl fermion remains a challenge. Here, the authors report angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and magnetotransport measurements resolving the topological properties of Weyl fermion quasiparticles in magnetic non-centrosymmetric crystal PrAlGe.
Weyl semimetals are novel topological conductors that host Weyl fermions as emergent quasiparticles. In this Rapid Communication, we propose a new type of Weyl semimetal state that breaks both time-reversal symmetry and inversion symmetry in the R AlGe (R= rare− earth) family. Compared to previous predictions of magnetic Weyl semimetal candidates, the prediction of Weyl nodes in R AlGe is more robust and less dependent on the details of the magnetism because the Weyl nodes are generated already by the inversion breaking and the ferromagnetism acts as a simple Zeeman coupling that shifts the Weyl nodes in k space. Moreover, R AlGe offers remarkable tunability, which covers all varieties of Weyl semimetals including type I, type II, inversion breaking, and time-reversal breaking, depending on a suitable choice of the rare-earth elements. Furthermore, the unique noncentrosymmetric and …
Weyl semimetals are novel topological conductors that host Weyl fermions as emergent quasiparticles. In this Rapid Communication, we propose a new type ofWeyl semimetal state that breaks both time-reversal symmetry and inversion symmetry in the RAlGe (R = rare-earth) family. Compared to previous predictions of magnetic Weyl semimetal candidates, the prediction of Weyl nodes in RAlGe is more robust and less dependent on the details of the magnetism because the Weyl nodes are generated already by the inversion breaking and the ferromagnetism acts as a simple Zeeman coupling that shifts theWeyl nodes in k space. Moreover, RAlGe offers remarkable tunability, which covers all varieties ofWeyl semimetals including type I, type II, inversion breaking, and time-reversal breaking, depending on a suitable choice of the rare-earth elements. Furthermore, the unique noncentrosymmetric and ferromagnetic Weyl semimetal state in RAlGe enables the generation of spin currents.
Abstract Single crystals of (Cd1−xZnx)3As2 were synthesized from high-temperature solutions and characterized in terms of their structural and electrical properties. Based on the measurements of resistivity and Hall signals, we revealed a chemical-doping-controlled transition from a three-dimensional Dirac semimetal to a semiconductor with a critical point xc ~ 0.38. We observed structural transitions from a body-center tetragonal phase to a primitive tetragonal phase then back to a body-center tetragonal phase in the solid solutions as well, which are irrelevant to the topological phase transition. This continuously tunable system controlled by chemical doping provides a platform for investigating the topological quantum phase transition of three-dimensional Dirac electrons.
Single crystals of (Cd 1−x Zn x ) 3 As 2 were synthesized from high-temperature solutions and characterized in terms of their structural and electrical properties. Based on the measurements of resistivity and Hall signals, we revealed a chemical-doping-controlled transition from a three-dimensional Dirac semimetal to a semiconductor with a critical point x c ~ 0.38. We observed structural transitions from a body-center tetragonal phase to a primitive tetragonal phase then back to a body-center tetragonal phase in the solid solutions as well, which are irrelevant to the topological phase transition. This continuously tunable system controlled by chemical doping provides a platform for investigating the topological quantum phase transition of three-dimensional Dirac electrons.
In quantum field theory, Weyl fermions are relativistic particles that travel at the speed of light and strictly obey the celebrated Lorentz symmetry. Their low-energy condensed matter analogs are Weyl semimetals, which are conductors whose electronic excitations mimic the Weyl fermion equation of motion. Although the traditional (type I) emergent Weyl fermions observed in TaAs still approximately respect Lorentz symmetry, recently, the so-called type II Weyl semimetal has been proposed, where the emergent Weyl quasiparticles break the Lorentz symmetry so strongly that they cannot be smoothly connected to Lorentz symmetric Weyl particles. Despite some evidence of nontrivial surface states, the direct observation of the type II bulk Weyl fermions remains elusive. We present the direct observation of the type II Weyl fermions in crystalline solid lanthanum aluminum germanide (LaAlGe) based on our photoemission data alone, without reliance on band structure calculations. Moreover, our systematic data agree with the theoretical calculations, providing further support on our experimental results.
Weyl semimetals are novel topological conductors that host Weyl fermions as emergent quasiparticles. While the Weyl fermions in high-energy physics are strictly defined as the massless solution of the Dirac equation and uniquely fixed by Lorentz symmetry, there is no such constraint for a topological metal in general. Specifically, the Weyl quasiparticles can arise by breaking either the space-inversion (ℐ) or time-reversal (𝒯) symmetry. They can either respect Lorentz symmetry (type-I) or strongly violate it (type-II). To date, different types of Weyl fermions have been predicted to occur only in different classes of materials. In this paper, we present a significant materials breakthrough by identifying a large class of Weyl materials in the RAlX (R=Rare earth, Al, X=Ge, Si) family that can realize all different types of emergent Weyl fermions (ℐ-breaking, 𝒯-breaking, type-I or type-II), depending on a suitable choice of the rare earth elements. Specifically, RAlX can be ferromagnetic, nonmagnetic or antiferromagnetic and the electronic band topology and topological nature of the Weyl fermions can be tuned. The unparalleled tunability and the large number of compounds make the RAlX family of compounds a unique Weyl semimetal class for exploring the wide-ranging topological phenomena associated with different types of emergent Weyl fermions in transport, spectroscopic and device-based experiments.
We report theoretical and experimental discovery of Lorentz-violating Weyl fermion semimetal type-II state in the LaAlGe class of materials. Previously type-II Weyl state was predicted in WTe2 materials which remains unrealized in surface experiments. We show theoretically and experimentally that LaAlGe class of materials are the robust platforms for the study of type-II Weyl physics.