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

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Rui Lou - , Lanzhou University, Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden, Helmholtz Centre Berlin for Materials and Energy (Author)
  • Alexander Fedorov - , Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden, Helmholtz Centre Berlin for Materials and Energy (Author)
  • Lingxiao Zhao - , Southern University of Science and Technology (Author)
  • Alexander Yaresko - , Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research (Author)
  • Bernd Büchner - , Clusters of Excellence ct.qmat: Complexity and Topology in Quantum Matter, Chair of Experimental Solid State Physics, Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (Author)
  • Sergey Borisenko - , Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (Author)

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.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number035158
JournalPhysical Review B
Volume107
Issue number3
Publication statusPublished - 15 Jan 2023
Peer-reviewedYes