We report anomalous physical properties of high-quality single-crystalline FeSi over a wide temperature range of 1.8-400 K. The electrical resistivity ρ(T) can be described by activated behavior with an energy gap Δ = 57 meV between 150 and 67 K, below which the estimated energy gap is significantly smaller. The magneto-resistivity and Hall coefficient change sign in the vicinity of 67 K, suggesting a change of dominant charge carriers. At ∼19 K, ρ(T) undergoes a cross-over from semiconducting to metallic behavior which is very robust against external magnetic fields. The low-temperature metallic conductivity depends strongly on the width/thickness of the sample. In addition, no indication of a bulk-phase transition or onset of magnetic order is found down to 2 K from specific heat and magnetic susceptibility measurements. The measurements are consistent with one another and point to complex electronic transport behavior that apparently involves a conducting surface state in FeSi at low temperatures, suggesting the possibility that FeSi is a 3D topological insulator.

Single crystals of a new layered compound, Cr1.21Te2, were synthesized via a vapor transport method. The crystal structure and physical properties were characterized by single crystal and powder x-ray diffraction, temperature- and field-dependent magnetization, zero-field heat capacity, and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. Cr1.21Te2, containing two Cr sites, crystalizes in a trigonal structure with a space group P-3 (No. 147). The Cr site in the interstitial layer is partially occupied. Physical property characterizations indicate that Cr1.21Te2 is metallic with hole pockets at the Fermi energy and undergoes a ferromagnetic phase transition at ∼173K. The magnetic moments align along the c axis in the ferromagnetic state. Based on low-temperature magnetization, the spin stiffness constant, D, and spin excitation gap, Δ, were estimated according to Bloch's law to be D=94±17meVÅ2 and Δ=0.45±0.33 meV, suggesting its possible application as a low dimensional ferromagnet.

Nodal-line semimetals (NLSs) represent a new type of topological semimetallic phase beyond Weyl and Dirac semimetals in the sense that they host closed loops or open curves of band degeneracies in the Brillouin zone. Parallel to the classification of type-I and type-II Weyl semimetals, there are two types of NLSs. The type-I NLS phase has been proposed and realized in many compounds, whereas the exotic type-II NLS phase that strongly violates Lorentz symmetry has remained elusive. First-principles calculations show that Mg₃Bi₂ is a material candidate for the type-II NLS. The band crossing is close to the Fermi level and exhibits the type-II nature of the nodal line in this material. Spin-orbit coupling generates only a small energy gap (≈35 meV) at the nodal points and does not negate the band dispersion of Mg₃Bi₂ that yields the type-II nodal line. Based on this prediction, Mg₃Bi₂ single crystals are synthesized and the presence of the type-II nodal lines in the material is confirmed. The angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements agree well with the first-principles results below the Fermi level and thus strongly suggest Mg₃Bi₂ as an ideal material platform for studying the as-yet unstudied properties of type-II nodal-line semimetals.

We survey the electrical transport properties of single-crystalline, topological chiral semimetal CoSi grown via different methods. High-quality CoSi single crystals were found in the growth from a tellurium solution. The sample's high carrier mobility enables us to observe quantum oscillations (QOs) in its thermoelectrical signals. Our analysis of QOs reveals two spherical Fermi surfaces around the R point in its Brillouin zone corner. The extracted Berry phases of these electron orbits are consistent with the -2 chiral charge as reported in density functional theory (DFT) calculations. A detailed analysis of the QOs reveals that the spin-orbit-coupling-induced band splitting is less than 2 meV near the Fermi level, one order of magnitude smaller than our DFT calculation. We also report a large phonon-drag-induced Nernst effect in CoSi at intermediate temperatures.

The quantum behaviour of electrons in materials is the foundation of modern electronics and information technology^1-11, and quantum materials with topological electronic and optical properties are essential for realizing quantized electronic responses that can be used for next generation technology. Here we report the first observation of topological quantum properties of chiral crystals^6,7 in the RhSi family. We find that this material class hosts a quantum phase of matter that exhibits nearly ideal topological surface properties originating from the crystals' structural chirality. Electrons on the surface of these crystals show a highly unusual helicoid fermionic structure that spirals around two high-symmetry momenta, indicating electronic topological chirality. The existence of bulk multiply degenerate band fermions is guaranteed by the crystal symmetries; however, to determine the topological invariant or charge in these chiral crystals, it is essential to identify and study the helicoid topology of the arc states. The helicoid arcs that we observe on the surface characterize the topological charges of ±2, which arise from bulk higher-spin chiral fermions. These topological conductors exhibit giant Fermi arcs of maximum length (π), which are orders of magnitude larger than those found in known chiral Weyl fermion semimetals^5,8-11. Our results demonstrate an electronic topological state of matter on structurally chiral crystals featuring helicoid-arc quantum states. Such exotic multifold chiral fermion semimetal states could be used to detect a quantized photogalvanic optical response, the chiral magnetic effect and other optoelectronic phenomena predicted for this class of materials⁶.