Robust weak antilocalization due to spin-orbital entanglement in Dirac material Sr$_3$SnO

TL;DR

This study reveals spin-momentum entanglement in Sr$_3$SnO through quantum interference and calculations, showing robust weak antilocalization due to spin-orbital effects in a Dirac material.

Contribution

It provides experimental and theoretical evidence for hidden spin-momentum entanglement in Sr$_3$SnO, a 3D Dirac material, highlighting the role of disorder and scattering in quantum interference.

Findings

Robust weak antilocalization observed independent of Fermi level position.

Single interference channel fits WAL data, indicating valley mixing by disorder.

Spin-orbital entanglement causes WAL, contrasting with graphene interference physics.

Abstract

The presence of both inversion ($P$) and time-reversal ($T$) symmetries in solids leads to a well-known double degeneracy of the electronic bands (Kramers degeneracy). When the degeneracy is lifted, spin textures can be directly observed in momentum space, as in topological insulators or in strong Rashba materials. The existence of spin textures with Kramers degeneracy, however, is very difficult to observe directly. Here, we use quantum interference measurements combined with first-principle band structure calculations to provide evidence for the existence of hidden entanglement between spin and momentum in the antiperovskite-type 3D Dirac material Sr$_3$SnO. We find robust weak antilocalization (WAL) independent of the position of $E_\mathrm{F}$. The observed WAL signal at low doping is fitted using a single interference channel, which implies that the different Dirac valleys are mixed by disorder. Notably, this mixing does not suppress WAL, suggesting contrasting interference physics compared to graphene. We identify scattering among axially spin-momentum locked states as a key process that leads to a spin-orbital entanglement, giving rise to robust WAL. Our work sheds light on the subtle role of spin and pseudospin, when both could contribute to the same quantum effect.