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Topological semimetal and Fermi-arc surface states in the electronic structure of pyrochlore iridates

Xiangang Wan, Ari M. Turner, Ashvin Vishwanath, and Sergey Y. Savrasov
Phys. Rev. B 83, 205101 – Published 2 May 2011
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Abstract

We investigate novel phases that emerge from the interplay of electron correlations and strong spin-orbit interactions. We focus on describing the topological semimetal, a three-dimensional phase of a magnetic solid, and argue that it may be realized in a class of pyrochlore iridates (such as Y2Ir2O7) based on calculations using the LDA+U method. This state is a three-dimensional analog of graphene with linearly dispersing excitations and provides a condensed-matter realization of Weyl fermions that obeys a two-component Dirac equation. It also exhibits remarkable topological properties manifested by surface states in the form of Fermi arcs, which are impossible to realize in purely two-dimensional band structures. For intermediate correlation strengths, we find this to be the ground state of the pyrochlore iridates, coexisting with noncollinear magnetic order. A narrow window of magnetic “axion” insulator may also be present. An applied magnetic field is found to induce a metallic ground state.

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  • Received 23 February 2011

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.83.205101

©2011 American Physical Society

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Physical Review B 50th Anniversary Milestones

These Milestone studies represent lasting contributions to physics by way of reporting significant discoveries, initiating new areas of research, or substantially enhancing the conceptual tools for making progress in the burgeoning field of condensed matter physics.

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Weyl electrons kiss

Published 2 May 2011

Theorists predict the possibility of topological “Fermi arc” surface states in a system with broken time-reversal symmetry.

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Authors & Affiliations

Xiangang Wan1, Ari M. Turner2, Ashvin Vishwanath2,3, and Sergey Y. Savrasov1,4

  • 1National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures and Department of Physics, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
  • 2Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
  • 3Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
  • 4Department of Physics, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, California 95616, USA

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Issue

Vol. 83, Iss. 20 — 15 May 2011

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