Observation of topological nodal-loop state in RAs3 (R = Ca, Sr)

TL;DR

This study uses ARPES and calculations to identify a topological nodal-loop in SrAs3 and its absence in CaAs3, providing a clear platform to explore quantum phase transitions in nodal-line semimetals.

Contribution

It reports the first direct observation of drumhead surface states in SrAs3, distinguishing it from CaAs3, and offers a simple platform for studying topological phase transitions.

Findings

SrAs3 exhibits a topological nodal-loop.

CaAs3 is near a trivial topological phase.

Surface states are well separated from other bands.

Abstract

Topological nodal-line semimetals (NLSs) are unique materials, which harbor one-dimensional line nodes along with the so-called drumhead surface states arising from nearly dispersionless two dimensional surface bands. However, a direct observation of these drumhead surface states in the currently realized NLSs has remained elusive. Here, by using high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) along with parallel first principles calculations, we examine the topological characteristics of SrAs3 and CaAs3. SrAs3 is found to show the presence of a topological nodal-loop, while CaAs3 is found to lie near a topologically trivial phase. Our analysis reveals that the surface projections of the bulk nodal-points in SrAs3 are connected by drumhead surface states. Notably, the topological states in SrAs3 and CaAs3 are well separated from other irrelevant bands in the vicinity of the Fermi level. These compounds thus provide a hydrogen-like simple platform for developing an in-depth understanding of the quantum phase transitions of NLSs.