Magnetic Domains in the Strongly Correlated Weyl Semimetal Candidate CeBi

ORAL

Abstract

Weyl Fermions can arise from Dirac semimetals when the degenerate massless states are split by broken time-reversal symmetry into two bands with opposite chirality. Recently, such states have been predicted in the strongly correlated cerium monopnictides, which develop band inversion as spin orbit coupling increases, and are known to host complex magnetic phase diagrams. Thus cerium monopnictides are ideal materials for studying the interplay of magnetism and topology. Here, we use spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy to map the magnetic phases of CeSb and CeBi on the atomic scale. We find distinct magnetic domains with differing spin periodicities, separated by abrupt domain walls. Furthermore, we observe quasiparticle scattering from the domain walls and defects in both materials. Control of these magnetic phases in cerium monopnictides provides the possibility of tuning the key energy scales and momentum splitting of Weyl fermions.

*STM work was supported by DOE EFRC, Center for the Advancement of Topological Semimetals.
Work at Ames Lab was supported by the U.S. DOE, BES, DMSE Contract No. DEAC0207CH11358.
HP and NHJ were funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation’s EPiQS Initiative through Grants
GBMF4536 and GBMF4411.

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Presenters

  • Nathan Drucker

    • Department of Physics, Harvard University

Authors

  • Nathan Drucker

    • Department of Physics, Harvard University

  • Yu Liu

    • Department of Physics, Harvard University

  • Christian Matt

    • Department of Physics, Harvard University
    • Physics Department, Harvard University
    • Physics, Harvard University
    • Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States

  • Harris Pirie

    • Harvard University
    • Physics, Harvard University
    • Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States
    • Department of Physics, Harvard University

  • Na Hyun Jo

    • Iowa State University
    • Iowa State University and Ames Laboratory
    • Ames Laboratory and Department of Physics & Astronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50010, USA
    • Department of Physics & Astronomy, Iowa State University
    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University
    • Department of physics and astronomy, Iowa State University/Ames Laboratory
    • Physics, Iowa State University/Ames Laboratory

  • Brinda Kuthanazhi

    • Iowa State University
    • Department of Physics & Astronomy, Iowa State University
    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University
    • Physics, Iowa State University/Ames Laboratory

  • Sergey L. Bud'ko

    • Iowa State University
    • Ames Laboratory and Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
    • Department of Physics & Astronomy, Iowa State University
    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University
    • Department of physics and astronomy, Iowa State University/Ames Laboratory

  • Paul C. Canfield

    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University

  • Jennifer Hoffman

    • Physics, Harvard University
    • Department of Physics, Harvard University
    • Harvard University
    • Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States