Topological Descendants of Multicritical EuTl2

TL;DR

This paper predicts EuTl2 as a multicritical semimetal with complex topological phases, where magnetism and strain can manipulate its rich family of descendant topological states, advancing understanding of topological materials.

Contribution

It introduces EuTl2 as a new material exhibiting multiple topological phases and explores how magnetism and strain influence its topological phase diagram.

Findings

EuTl2 is a predicted multicritical semimetal with multiple topological features.

Magnetism and strain can induce a variety of topological descendant phases.

The phase diagram includes transitions between topological insulators and semimetals.

Abstract

The past decades have witnessed a transformation in characterizing condensed matter systems with topology. Aided by a refined understanding of topological band structures with crystalline symmetries that has emerged recently, many electronic phases have been identified and a plethora of materials have been predicted to host novel properties and functionalities. A key underlying question, also with respect to future application, is to what extent the related physical features can be manipulated, especially in the context of magnetic order. Here we describe a paradigmatic semimetal that simultaneously incorporates multiple, and sometimes conflicting topology which guarantees gaplessness and leads to an exceptionally rich family of descendent phases on lowering symmetry. We predict that this multicritical phase is realized in EuTl2. Starting from the parent semimetallic state, which already separates two topological insulating regimes, the interplay of inherent magnetism and strain allows for an exceptionally rich phase diagram of topological descendant states.