Temperature dependence of quantum oscillations from non-parabolic dispersions

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that temperature-dependent quantum oscillation frequency shifts can distinguish topological from trivial materials, with experimental validation in Dirac semimetals and theoretical predictions that do not rely on ab-initio calculations.

Contribution

It introduces a temperature-based method to identify topological materials via quantum oscillations, highlighting a $T^2$ correction in topological metals absent in trivial ones.

Findings

Linear dispersion causes a $T^2$ frequency correction in topological metals.

Experimental confirmation in Cd3As2 and LaRhIn5 matches theoretical predictions.

No frequency shift observed in trivial Bi2O2Se, but phase shifts can be misleading.

Abstract

The phase offset of quantum oscillations is commonly used to experimentally diagnose topologically non-trivial Fermi surfaces. This methodology, however, is inconclusive for spin-orbit-coupled metals where $\pi$-phase-shifts can also arise from non-topological origins. Here, we show that the linear dispersion in topological metals leads to a $T^2$-temperature correction to the oscillation frequency that is absent for parabolic dispersions. We confirm this effect experimentally in the Dirac semi-metal Cd$_3$As$_2$ and the multiband Dirac metal LaRhIn$_5$. Both materials match a tuning-parameter-free theoretical prediction, emphasizing their unified origin. For topologically trivial Bi$_2$O$_2$Se, no frequency shift associated to linear bands is observed as expected. However, the $\pi$-phase shift in Bi$_2$O$_2$Se would lead to a false positive in a Landau-fan plot analysis. Our frequency-focused methodology does not require any input from ab-initio calculations, and hence is promising for identifying correlated topological materials.