Dirac lines and loop at the Fermi level in the Time-Reversal Symmetry Breaking Superconductor LaNiGa$_2$

TL;DR

This paper reveals that LaNiGa$_2$ is a topological crystalline superconductor with Dirac lines and a loop at the Fermi level, enabling time-reversal symmetry breaking without magnetic order, due to its unique nonsymmorphic band structure.

Contribution

The study uncovers a previously unknown nonsymmorphic crystal structure and topological band features in LaNiGa$_2$, linking these to its unconventional superconductivity and symmetry-breaking.

Findings

Identification of a nonsymmorphic crystal structure in LaNiGa$_2$

Observation of Dirac lines and a Dirac loop at the Fermi level

Evidence of time-reversal symmetry breaking without magnetic order

Abstract

Unconventional superconductors have Cooper pairs with lower symmetries than in conventional superconductors. In most unconventional superconductors, the additional symmetry breaking occurs in relation to typical ingredients such as strongly correlated Fermi liquid phases, magnetic fluctuations, or strong spin-orbit coupling in noncentrosymmetric structures. In this article, we show that the time-reversal symmetry breaking in the superconductor LaNiGa$_2$ is enabled by its previously unknown topological electronic band structure. Our single crystal diffraction experiments indicate a nonsymmorphic crystal structure, in contrast to the previously reported symmorphic structure. The nonsymmorphic symmetries transform the $k_z=\pi/c$ plane of the Brillouin zone boundary into a node-surface. Band-structure calculations reveal that distinct Fermi surfaces become degenerate on the node-surface and form Dirac lines and a Dirac loop at the Fermi level. Two symmetry related Dirac points remain degenerate under spin-orbit coupling. ARPES measurements confirm the calculations and provide evidence for the Fermi surface degeneracies on the node-surface. These unique topological features enable an unconventional superconducting gap in which time-reversal symmetry can be broken in the absence of other typical ingredients. LaNiGa$_2$ is therefore a topological crystalline superconductor that breaks time-reversal symmetry without any overlapping magnetic ordering or fluctuations. Our findings will enable future discoveries of additional topological superconductors.