Effect of incommensurate potential on nodal-link semimetals

TL;DR

This paper investigates how incommensurate potentials influence the phases and Fermi surface topology of nodal-link semimetals, revealing multiple phase transitions and evolution from lines to loops in the Fermi surface.

Contribution

It demonstrates the sequence of phase transitions induced by incommensurate potentials in nodal-link semimetals and analyzes their spectral and wave function properties.

Findings

Nodal-link semimetals undergo phase transitions to metallic and loop semimetal phases.

Fermi surface evolves from lines to loops with increasing potential strength.

Surface states influence the phase behavior and spectral properties.

Abstract

We explore the effect of an incommensurate potential on nodal-link semimetals. For system with surface states, we show the nodal-link semimetal undergoes a series of phase transitions: first into a metallic phase, then to a loop semimetal phase and back to a metallic phase with increasing the strength of incommensurate potential. The phase transitions are unveiled by analyzing the properties of energy spectra and wave functions. We also study the system without surface states and find that the Fermi surface evolves from lines to loops before the system enters into a metallic phase when increasing the incommensurate potential strength.