Signature of weakly coupled f electrons and conduction electrons in magnetic Weyl semimetal candidates PrAlSi and SmAlSi

Rui Lou, Alexander Fedorov, Lingxiao Zhao, Alexander Yaresko, Bernd Büchner, and Sergey Borisenko
Phys. Rev. B 107, 035158 – Published 31 January 2023
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Abstract

Magnetic topological materials are a class of compounds with the underlying interplay of nontrivial band topology and magnetic spin configuration. Extensive interest has been aroused due to their application potential involved with an array of exotic quantum states. With angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and first-principles calculations, here we study the electronic properties of two magnetic Weyl semimetal candidates, PrAlSi and SmAlSi. Though the two compounds harbor distinct magnetic ground states (ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic for PrAlSi and SmAlSi, respectively) and 4f shell fillings, we find that they share a quite analogous low-energy band structure. By measurements across the magnetic transitions, we further reveal that there is no evident evolution of the band structure in both compounds and the experimental spectra can be well reproduced by the nonmagnetic calculations, together suggesting a negligible effect of the magnetism on their electronic structures and a possibly weak coupling between the localized 4f electrons and the itinerant conduction electrons. Our results offer essential insights into the interactions between magnetism, electron correlations, and topological orders in the RAlX (R = light rare earth and X = Si or Ge) family.

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  • Received 18 November 2022
  • Accepted 20 January 2023

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.107.035158

©2023 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

Rui Lou1,2,3,4,*, Alexander Fedorov2,3,4,†, Lingxiao Zhao5,‡, Alexander Yaresko6, Bernd Büchner2,7, and Sergey Borisenko2,§

  • 1School of Physical Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
  • 2Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research, IFW Dresden, 01069 Dresden, Germany
  • 3Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie, Albert-Einstein-Straße 15, 12489 Berlin, Germany
  • 4Joint Laboratory “Functional Quantum Materials” at BESSY II, 12489 Berlin, Germany
  • 5Department of Physics, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
  • 6Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
  • 7Institute for Solid State and Materials Physics, TU Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany

  • *lourui@lzu.edu.cn
  • a.fedorov@ifw-dresden.de
  • zhaolx@mail.sustech.edu.cn
  • §s.borisenko@ifw-dresden.de

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Issue

Vol. 107, Iss. 3 — 15 January 2023

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