Emergence of Weyl fermions by ferrimagnetism in a noncentrosymmetric magnetic Weyl semimetal.

Condensed matter physics has often provided a platform for investigating the interplay between particles and fields in cases that have not been observed in high-energy physics. Here, using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we provide an example of this by visualizing the electronic structure of a noncentrosymmetric magnetic Weyl semimetal candidate NdAlSi in both the paramagnetic and ferrimagnetic states. We observe surface Fermi arcs and bulk Weyl fermion dispersion as well as the emergence of new Weyl fermions in the ferrimagnetic state. Our results establish NdAlSi as a magnetic Weyl semimetal and provide an experimental observation of ferrimagnetic regulation of Weyl fermions in condensed matter.

Temperature-dependent phase evolution of copper-oxide thin-films on Au(111).

The formation of ultrathin copper oxide layers on an Au(111) surface is explored with scanning tunneling microscopy and density functional theory. Depending on the thermal treatment of as-grown Cu-O samples, a variety of thin-film morphologies is observed. Whereas 1D oxide stripes with Au[112[combining macron]] and Au[11[combining macron]0] orientation emerge at 450 and 550 K annealing, respectively, a planar (2 × 2) Cu-O network with specific domain structure develops at higher temperature. The latter is ascribed to a Cu3O2 honeycomb lattice with oxygen ions alternatingly located in surface and interface positions. Strain minimization and a thermodynamic preference for Cu-rich edges lead to the formation of structurally well-defined boundaries, delimiting either triangular, elongated or stripe-like Cu3O2 domains. The low-temperature phases compirse complex arrangements of hexagonal and square Cu-O units, similar to those found in Cu2O(111) and (100) surfaces, respectively. The transitions between different thin-film phases are driven by Cu dissolution in the gold crystal and O2 evaporation and therefore accompanied by a thinning of the oxide layer with increasing temperature.

Incorrect DFT-GGA predictions of the stability of non-stoichiometric/polar dielectric surfaces: the case of Cu2O(111).

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and hybrid density functional theory (DFT) have been used to study the stability and electronic characteristics of the Cu2O(111) surface. We challenge previous interpretations of its structure and composition and show that only appropriate (hybrid) calculations can correctly account for the relative thermodynamic stability of stoichiometric versus Cu-deficient terminations. Our theoretical finding of the stoichiometric surface to be most stable at oxygen-lean conditions is confirmed by an excellent matching between STM spectroscopy data and the calculated surface electronic structure. Beyond the specific case of the Cu2O(111) surface, and beyond the known deficiencies of GGA-based approaches in the description of oxide electronic structures, our work highlights the risk of an erroneous evaluation of the surface stability, in cases where the energetics and electronic characteristics are strongly coupled, as in a wide class of polar and/or non-stoichiometric oxide surfaces.