Related papers: Topological insulators and metal-insulator transit…
We have studied the effect of pressure on the pyrochlore iridate Eu$_2$Ir$_2$O$_7$, which at ambient pressure has a thermally driven insulator to metal transition at $T_{MI}\sim120$\,K. As a function of pressure the insulating gap closes,…
Topological crystalline insulators (TCI) possess electronic states protected by crystal symmetries, rather than time-reversal symmetry. We show that the transition metal oxides with heavy transition metals are able to support nontrivial…
Since topological insulators were theoretically predicted and experimentally observed in semiconductors with strong spin-orbit coupling, more and more attention has been drawn to topological materials which host exotic surface states. These…
We construct a model for interacting electrons with strong spin orbit coupling in the pyrochlore iridates. We establish the importance of the direct hopping process between the Ir atoms and use the relative strength of the direct and…
Combining density functional theory (DFT) and embedded dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT) methods, we study the metal-insulator transition in $R_2$Ir$_2$O$_7$ ($R$=Y, Eu, Sm, Nd, Pr, and Bi) and the topological nature of the insulating…
We have explored the critical metal-insulator phenomena for pyrochlore-type $R_2$Ir$_2$O$_7$, in which electron correlation strength and magnetic configuration are systematically controlled by varying the average rare-earth ionic radius…
In 5d transition metal oxides such as the iridates, novel properties arise from the interplay of electron correlations and spin-orbit interactions. We investigate the electronic structure of the pyrochlore iridates, (such as…
In the search for topological phases in correlated electron systems, iridium-based pyrochlores A2Ir2O7 -- materials with 5d transition-metal ions -- provide fertile grounds. Several novel topological states have been predicted but the…
The recently discovered three dimensional or bulk topological insulators are expected to exhibit exotic quantum phenomena. It is believed that a trivial insulator can be twisted into a topological state by modulating the spin-orbit…
Pyrochlore oxides with chemical formula of A2B2O7 exhibit a diverse range of electronic properties as a representative family of quantum materials. These properties mostly stem from strong electron correlations at the transition metal B…
Electrons hopping on the sites of a three-dimensional pyrochlore lattice are shown to form topologically non-trivial insulating phases when the spin-orbit (SO) coupling and lattice distortions are present. Of 16 possible topological classes…
Tuning the spin-orbit coupling strength via foreign element doping and/or modifying bonding strength via strain engineering are the major routes to convert normal insulators to topological insulators. We here propose an alternative strategy…
Recent theory and experiment have revealed that strong spin-orbit coupling can have dramatic qualitative effects on the band structure of weakly interacting solids. Indeed, it leads to a distinct phase of matter, the topological band…
Metal-insulator transitions in pyrochlore iridates (A2Ir2O7) are believed to occur due to subtle interplay of spin-orbit coupling, geometric frustration, and electron interactions. In particular, the nature of magnetic ordering of iridium…
The recent discovery of topological insulators has revived interest in the topological properties of insulating band structures. In this work, we extend the topological classification of insulating band structures to include certain point…
Electrons in the pyrochore iridates experience a large interaction energy in addition to a strong spin-orbit interaction. Both features make the iridates promising for realizing novel states such as the Topological Mott Insulator. The…
A2Ir2O7 iridates were proven to crystallise in the geometrically frustrated pyrochlore structure, which remains stable upon rare-earth cation substitution, temperature variation, and external pressure application. However, the change of…
Topological insulators are characterized by a nontrivial band topology driven by the spin-orbit coupling. To fully explore the fundamental science and application of topological insulators, material realization is indispensable. Here we…
We report a resonant inelastic X-ray scattering study on a single crystal of a non-stoichiometric pyrochlore iridate Tb$_{2+x}$Ir$_{2-x}$O$_{7-y}$ ($x \simeq 0.25$) that magnetically orders at $T_{\rm{N}}\simeq 50$ K. We find that the…
The interplay of spin-orbit interactions and electronic correlations dominates the physical properties of pyrochlore iridates, R2Ir2O7 (R = Y, rare earth element), which are typically magnetic insulators. We report an…