Correlation-driven electronic nematicity in the Dirac semimetal BaNiS2.

In BaNiS2, a Dirac nodal line band structure exists within a two-dimensional Ni square lattice system, in which significant electronic correlation effects are anticipated. Using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), we discover signs of correlated-electron behavior, namely electronic nematicity appearing as a pair of C2-symmetry striped patterns in the local density-of-states at ∼60 meV above the Fermi energy. In observations of quasiparticle interference, as well as identifying scattering between Dirac cones, we find that the striped patterns in real space stem from a lifting of degeneracy among electron pockets at the Brillouin zone boundary. We infer a momentum-dependent energy shift with d-form factor, which we model numerically within a density wave (DW) equation framework that considers spin-fluctuation-driven nematicity. This suggests an unusual mechanism driving the nematic instability, stemming from only a small perturbation to the Fermi surface, in a system with very low density of states at the Fermi energy. The Dirac points lie at nodes of the d-form factor and are almost unaffected by it. These results highlight BaNiS2 as a unique material in which Dirac electrons and symmetry-breaking electronic correlations coexist.

New insights into band inversion and topological phase of TiNI monolayer.

Two-dimensional (2D) topological insulators (TIs) hold great promise for future quantum information technologies. Among the 2D-TIs, the TiNI monolayer has recently been proposed as an ideal material for achieving the quantum spin Hall effect at room temperature. Theoretical predictions suggest a sizable bandgap due to the spin-orbit coupling (SOC) of the electrons at and near the Fermi level with a nontrivial 2 topology of the electronic states, which is robust under external strain. However, our detailed first-principles calculations reveal that, in contrast to these predictions, the TiNI monolayer has a trivial bandgap in the equilibrium state with no band inversion, despite SOC opening the bandgap. Moreover, we show that electron correlation effects significantly impact the topological and structural stabilities of the system under external strains. We employed a range of density functional theory (DFT) approaches, including HSE06, PBE0, TB-mBJ, and GGA+U, to comprehensively investigate the nontrivial topological properties of this monolayer. Our results demonstrate that using general-purpose functionals such as PBE-GGA for studying TIs can lead to false predictions, potentially misleading experimentalists in their efforts to discover new TIs.

Axial-Bonding-Driven Dimensionality Effect on the Charge-Density Wave in NbSe2.

2H-NbSe2 is a prototypical charge-density-wave (CDW) system, exhibiting such a symmetry-breaking quantum ground state in its bulk and down to a single-atomic-layer limit. However, how this state depends on dimensionality and what governs the dimensionality effect remain controversial. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a robust 3 × 3 CDW phase in both freestanding and substrate-supported bilayer NbSe2, far above the bulk transition temperature. We exclude environmental effects and reveal a strong temperature and thickness dependence of Raman intensity from an axially vibrating A1g phonon mode, involving Se ions. Using first-principles calculations, we show that these result from a delicate but profound competition between the intra- and interlayer bonding formed between Se-pz orbitals. Our results suggest the crucial role of Se out-of-plane displacement in driving the CDW distortion, revealing the Se-dominated dimensionality effect and establishing a new perspective on the chemical bonding and mechanical stability in layered CDW materials.

Spin-Orbit-Induced Ising Ferromagnetism at a van der Waals Interface.

Magnetocrystalline anisotropy, a key ingredient for establishing long-range order in a magnetic material down to the two-dimensional (2D) limit, is generally associated with spin-orbit interaction (SOI) involving a finite orbital angular momentum. Here we report strong out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy without orbital angular momentum, emerging at the interface between two different van der Waals (vdW) materials, an archetypal metallic vdW material NbSe2 possessing Zeeman-type SOI and an isotropic vdW ferromagnet V5Se8. We found that the Zeeman SOI in NbSe2 induces robust out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy in V5Se8 down to the 2D limit with a more than 2-fold enhancement of the transition temperature. We propose a simple model that takes into account the energy gain in NbSe2 in contact with a ferromagnet, which naturally explains our observations. Our results demonstrate a conceptually new magnetic proximity effect at the vdW interface, expanding the horizons of emergent phenomena achievable in vdW heterostructures.

Enhanced thermopower in ZnO two-dimensional electron gas.

Control of dimensionality has proven to be an effective way to manipulate the electronic properties of materials, thereby enabling exotic quantum phenomena, such as superconductivity, quantum Hall effects, and valleytronic effects. Another example is thermoelectricity, which has been theoretically proposed to be favorably controllable by reducing the dimensionality. Here, we verify this proposal by performing a systematic study on a gate-tuned 2D electron gas (2DEG) system formed at the surface of ZnO. Combining state-of-the-art electric-double-layer transistor experiments and realistic tight-binding calculations, we show that, for a wide range of carrier densities, the 2DEG channel comprises a single subband, and its effective thickness can be reduced to [Formula: see text] 1 nm at sufficiently high gate biases. We also demonstrate that the thermoelectric performance of the 2DEG region is significantly higher than that of bulk ZnO. Our approach opens up a route to exploit the peculiar behavior of 2DEG electronic states and realize thermoelectric devices with advanced functionalities.

Coexistence of monochalocogen and dichalocogen ions in BiSe2 and BiS2 crystals prepared at high pressure.

A single crystal of bismuth diselenide, BiSe2, containing both monochalcogen (Se(2-)) and dichalcogen (Se2(2-)) ions, was prepared at a high pressure of 5.5 GPa. Its crystal structure, substitution chemistry, and physical properties were investigated. X-ray analysis showed that BiSe2 is in a monoclinic system (space group C2/m) with the following lattice parameters: a = 16.740(3) Å, b = 4.1410(11) Å, c = 12.027(3) Å, and ß = 127.658(13)°. A crystal structure of BiSe2 can be viewed as a layered structure with stacks of neutral BiSe2 blocks along the c-axis, or alternatively as a quasi-one-dimensional structure with double chains of BiSe5 pyramids along the b-axis. Each Bi is coordinated with three Se(2-) ions and two Se2(2-) ions, and the bond valence analysis indicated that Bi was trivalent. BiSe2 and BiS2 form a solid solution in the whole range while retaining the same structure, and the partial substitution of Sb for Bi is also achieved at 10%. All the compounds show a semiconducting property and diamagnetism that can be attributed to the closed-shell ion core. In spite of the compositional analogy with Bi2Se3, BiSe2 is proven by the first-principles calculations not to be a topological insulator.

Giant thermoelectric effect in graphene-based topological insulators with heavy adatoms and nanopores.

Designing thermoelectric materials with high figure of merit ZT = S(2)GT/Ktot requires fulfilling three often irreconcilable conditions, that is, the high electrical conductance G, small thermal conductance Ktot, and high Seebeck coefficient S. Nanostructuring is one of the promising ways to achieve this goal as it can substantially suppress lattice contribution to Ktot. However, it may also unfavorably influence the electronic transport in an uncontrollable way. Here, we theoretically demonstrate that this issue can be ideally solved by fabricating graphene nanoribbons with heavy adatoms and nanopores. The adatoms locally enhance spin-orbit coupling in graphene thereby converting it into a two-dimensional topological insulator with a band gap in the bulk and robust helical edge states, which carry electrical current and generate a highly optimized power factor S(2)G per helical conducting channel due to narrow boxcar-function-shaped electronic transmission (surpassing even the Mahan-Sofo limit obtained for delta-function-shaped electronic transmission). Concurrently, the array of nanopores impedes the lattice thermal conduction through the bulk. Using quantum transport simulations coupled with first-principles electronic and phononic band structure calculations, the thermoelectric figure of merit is found to reach its maximum ZT ≃ 3 at low temperatures T ≃ 40 K. This paves a way to design high-ZT materials by exploiting the nontrivial topology of electronic states through nanostructuring.

Theory of topological quantum phase transitions in 3D noncentrosymmetric systems.

We construct a general theory describing the topological quantum phase transitions in 3D systems with broken inversion symmetry. While the consideration of the system's codimension generally predicts the appearance of a stable metallic phase between the normal and topological insulators, it is shown that a direct topological phase transition between two insulators is also possible when an accidental band crossing occurs along directions with high crystalline symmetry. At the quantum critical point, the energy dispersion becomes quadratic along one direction while the dispersions along the other two orthogonal directions are linear, which manifests the zero chirality of the band touching point. Because of the anisotropic dispersion at quantum critical point, various thermodynamic and transport properties show unusual temperature dependence and anisotropic behaviors.

Valley-dimensionality locking of superconductivity in cubic phosphides.

Two-dimensional superconductivity is primarily realized in atomically thin layers through extreme exfoliation, epitaxial growth, or interfacial gating. Apart from their technical challenges, these approaches lack sufficient control over the Fermiology of superconducting systems. Here, we offer a Fermiology-engineering approach, allowing us to desirably tune the coherence length of Cooper pairs and the dimensionality of superconducting states in arsenic phosphides AsxP1-x under hydrostatic pressure. We demonstrate how this turns these compounds into tunable two-dimensional superconductors with a dome-shaped phase diagram even in the bulk limit. This peculiar behavior is shown to result from an unconventional valley-dimensionality locking mechanism, driven by a delicate competition between three-dimensional hole-type and two-dimensional electron-type energy pockets spatially separated in momentum space. The resulting dimensionality crossover is further discussed to be systematically controllable by pressure and stoichiometry tuning. Our findings pave a unique way to realize and control superconducting phases with special pairing and dimensional orders.

Hidden spin-orbital texture at the [Formula: see text]-located valence band maximum of a transition metal dichalcogenide semiconductor.

Finding stimuli capable of driving an imbalance of spin-polarised electrons within a solid is the central challenge in the development of spintronic devices. However, without the aid of magnetism, routes towards this goal are highly constrained with only a few suitable pairings of compounds and driving mechanisms found to date. Here, through spin- and angle-resolved photoemission along with density functional theory, we establish how the p-derived bulk valence bands of semiconducting 1T-HfSe2 possess a local, ground-state spin texture spatially confined within each Se-sublayer due to strong sublayer-localised electric dipoles orientated along the c-axis. This hidden spin-polarisation manifests in a 'coupled spin-orbital texture' with in-equivalent contributions from the constituent p-orbitals. While the overall spin-orbital texture for each Se sublayer is in strict adherence to time-reversal symmetry (TRS), spin-orbital mixing terms with net polarisations at time-reversal invariant momenta are locally maintained. These apparent TRS-breaking contributions dominate, and can be selectively tuned between with a choice of linear light polarisation, facilitating the observation of pronounced spin-polarisations at the Brillouin zone centre for all kz. We discuss the implications for the generation of spin-polarised populations from 1T-structured transition metal dichalcogenides using a fixed energy, linearly polarised light source.

Valence-skipping and quasi-two-dimensionality of superconductivity in a van der Waals insulator.

Valence fluctuation of interacting electrons plays a crucial role in emergent quantum phenomena in correlated electron systems. The theoretical rationale is that this effect can drive a band insulator into a superconductor through charge redistribution around the Fermi level. However, the root cause of such a fluctuating leap in the ionic valency remains elusive. Here, we demonstrate a valence-skipping-driven insulator-to-superconductor transition and realize quasi-two-dimensional superconductivity in a van der Waals insulator GeP under pressure. This is shown to result from valence skipping of the Ge cation, altering its average valency from 3+ to 4+, turning GeP from a layered compound to a three-dimensional covalent system with superconducting critical temperature reaching its maximum of 10 K. Such a valence-skipping-induced superconductivity with a quasi-two-dimensional nature in thin samples, showing a Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless-like character, is further confirmed by angle-dependent upper-critical-field measurements. These findings provide a model system to examine competing order parameters in valence-skipping systems.

Above-ordering-temperature large anomalous Hall effect in a triangular-lattice magnetic semiconductor.

While anomalous Hall effect (AHE) has been extensively studied in the past, efforts for realizing large Hall response have been mainly limited within intrinsic mechanism. Lately, however, a theory of extrinsic mechanism has predicted that magnetic scattering by spin cluster can induce large AHE even above magnetic ordering temperature, particularly in magnetic semiconductors with low carrier density, strong exchange coupling, and finite spin chirality. Here, we find out a new magnetic semiconductor EuAs, where Eu2+ ions with large magnetic moments form distorted triangular lattice. In addition to colossal magnetoresistance, EuAs exhibits large AHE with an anomalous Hall angle of 0.13 at temperatures far above antiferromagnetic ordering. As also demonstrated by model calculations, observed AHE can be explained by the spin cluster scattering in a hopping regime. Our findings shed light on magnetic semiconductors hosting topological spin textures, developing a field targeting diluted carriers strongly coupled to noncoplanar spin structures.

Anisotropic Quantum Transport through a Single Spin Channel in the Magnetic Semiconductor EuTiO3.

Magnetic semiconductors are a vital component in the understanding of quantum transport phenomena. To explore such delicate, yet fundamentally important, effects, it is crucial to maintain a high carrier mobility in the presence of magnetic moments. In practice, however, magnetization often diminishes the carrier mobility. Here, it is shown that EuTiO3 is a rare example of a magnetic semiconductor that can be desirably grown using the molecular beam epitaxy to possess a high carrier mobility exceeding 3000 cm2 V-1 s-1 at 2 K, while intrinsically hosting a large magnetization value, 7 µB per formula unit. This is demonstrated by measuring the Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillations in the ferromagnetic state of EuTiO3 films with various carrier densities. Using first-principles calculations, it is shown that the observed SdH oscillations originate genuinely from Ti 3d-t2g states which are fully spin-polarized due to their energetical proximity to the in-gap Eu 4f bands. Such an exchange coupling is further shown to have a profound effect on the effective mass and fermiology of the Ti 3d-t2g electrons, manifested by a directional anisotropy in the SdH oscillations. These findings suggest that EuTiO3 film is an ideal magnetic semiconductor, offering a fertile field to explore quantum phenomena suitable for spintronic applications.

Patterns and driving forces of dimensionality-dependent charge density waves in 2H-type transition metal dichalcogenides.

Charge density wave (CDW) is a startling quantum phenomenon, distorting a metallic lattice into an insulating state with a periodically modulated charge distribution. Astonishingly, such modulations appear in various patterns even within the same family of materials. Moreover, this phenomenon features a puzzling diversity in its dimensional evolution. Here, we propose a general framework, unifying distinct trends of CDW ordering in an isoelectronic group of materials, 2H-MX2 (M = Nb, Ta and X = S, Se). We show that while NbSe2 exhibits a strongly enhanced CDW order in two dimensions, TaSe2 and TaS2 behave oppositely, with CDW being absent in NbS2 entirely. Such a disparity is demonstrated to arise from a competition of ionic charge transfer, electron-phonon coupling, and electron correlation. Despite its simplicity, our approach can, in principle, explain dimensional dependence of CDW in any material, thereby shedding new light on this intriguing quantum phenomenon and its underlying mechanisms.

Bulk Rashba Semiconductors and Related Quantum Phenomena.

Bithmuth tellurohalides BiTeX (X = Cl, Br and I) are model examples of bulk Rashba semiconductors, exhibiting a giant Rashba-type spin splitting among their both valence and conduction bands. Extensive spectroscopic and transport experiments combined with the state-of-the-art first-principles calculations have revealed many unique quantum phenomena emerging from the bulk Rashba effect in these systems. The novel features such as the exotic inter- and intra-band optical transitions, enhanced magneto-optical response, divergent orbital dia-/para-magnetic susceptibility and helical spin textures with a nontrivial Berry's phase in the momentum space are among the salient discoveries, all arising from this effect. Also, it is theoretically proposed and indications have been experimentally reported that bulk Rashba semiconductors such as BiTeI have the capability of becoming a topological insulator under the application of a hydrostatic pressure. Here, we overview these studies and show that BiTeX are an ideal platform to explore the next aspects of quantum matter, which could ultimately be utilized to create spintronic devices with novel functionalities.

Critical enhancement of thermopower in a chemically tuned polar semimetal MoTe2.

Ferroelectrics with spontaneous electric polarization play an essential role in today's device engineering, such as capacitors and memories. Their physical properties are further enriched by suppressing the long-range polar order, as exemplified by quantum paraelectrics with giant piezoelectric and dielectric responses at low temperatures. Likewise in metals, a polar lattice distortion has been theoretically predicted to give rise to various unusual physical properties. However, to date, a "ferroelectric"-like transition in metals has seldom been controlled, and hence, its possible impacts on transport phenomena remain unexplored. We report the discovery of anomalous enhancement of thermopower near the critical region between the polar and nonpolar metallic phases in 1T'-Mo1-x Nb x Te2 with a chemically tunable polar transition. It is unveiled from the first-principles calculations and magnetotransport measurements that charge transport with a strongly energy-dependent scattering rate critically evolves toward the boundary to the nonpolar phase, resulting in large cryogenic thermopower. Such a significant influence of the structural instability on transport phenomena might arise from the fluctuating or heterogeneous polar metallic states, which would pave a novel route to improving thermoelectric efficiency.

Carrier-Density Control of the SrTiO3 (001) Surface 2D Electron Gas studied by ARPES.

The origin of the 2D electron gas (2DEG)stabilized at the bare surface of SrTiO3 (001) is investigated. Using high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission and core-level spectroscopy, it is shown conclusively that this 2DEG arises from light-induced oxygen vacancies. The dominant mechanism driving vacancy formation is identified, allowing unprecedented control over the 2DEG carrier density.

High-pressure phases of hydrogen cyanide: formation of hydrogenated carbon nitride polymers and layers and their electronic properties.

We have performed a set of first-principles simulations to consider the possible phase transitions in molecular crystals of HCN under high pressure. Our calculations reveal several transition paths from the orthorhombic phase to tetragonal and then to triclinic phases. The transitions from the orthorhombic to the tetragonal phases are of the second order, whereas those from the tetragonal to the triclinic phases turn out to be of the first-order type and characterized by an abrupt decrease in volume. Our calculations show that, by adjustment of the temperature and pressure of the HCN molecular crystal, novel layered and polymeric crystals with insulating, semiconducting or metallic properties can be found. Based on our simulation results, two different crystal formation mechanisms are deduced. The stabilities of the predicted structures at ambient pressure are further assessed by performing phonon or MD simulations. In addition, the electron transport properties of the predicted polymers are obtained using the non-equilibrium Green's function technique combined with density functional theory. The results show that the polymers have metallic-like I-V characteristics.