English

Topological Fermi-arc surface state covered by floating electrons on a two-dimensional electride

Materials Science 2024-07-15 v1

Abstract

Two-dimensional electrides can acquire topologically non-trivial phases due to intriguing interplay between the cationic atomic layers and anionic electron layers. However, experimental evidence of topological surface states has yet to be verified. Here, via angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM), we probe the magnetic Weyl states of the ferromagnetic electride [Gd2[Gd_{2}C]^{2+}\cdot2e^{-}.Inparticular,thepresenceofWeylconesandFermiarcstatesisdemonstratedthroughphotonenergydependentARPESmeasurements,agreeingwiththeoreticalbandstructurecalculations.Notably,theSTMmeasurementsrevealthattheFermiarcstatesexistunderneathafloatingquantumelectronliquidonthetopGdlayer,formingdoublestackedsurfacestatesinaheterostructure.Ourworkthusnotonlyunveilsthenontrivialtopologyofthe. In particular, the presence of Weyl cones and Fermi-arc states is demonstrated through photon energy-dependent ARPES measurements, agreeing with theoretical band structure calculations. Notably, the STM measurements reveal that the Fermi-arc states exist underneath a floating quantum electron liquid on the top Gd layer, forming double-stacked surface states in a heterostructure. Our work thus not only unveils the non-trivial topology of the [Gd_{2}C]2+2eC]^{2+}\cdot2e^{-} electride but also realizes a surface heterostructure that can host phenomena distinct from the bulk.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2407.09153,
  title  = {Topological Fermi-arc surface state covered by floating electrons on a two-dimensional electride},
  author = {Chan-young Lim and Min-Seok Kim and Dong Cheol Lim and Sunghun Kim and Yeonghoon Lee and Jaehoon Cha and Gyubin Lee and Sang Yong Song and Dinesh Thapa and Jonathan D. Denlinger and Seong-Gon Kim and Sung Wng Kim and Jungpil Seo and Yeongkwan Kim},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2407.09153},
  year   = {2024}
}

Comments

22 pages, 6 figures

R2 v1 2026-06-28T17:38:28.647Z