Weyl-type nodal chains in X2MnO4 (X= Li, Na)

TL;DR

This paper predicts that Li2MnO4 and Na2MnO4 are magnetic topological semimetals with Weyl-type nodal chains, protected by symmetry, and exhibiting nontrivial surface states, making them promising for spintronics applications.

Contribution

It introduces two new magnetic topological semimetals with Weyl-type nodal chains, validated by first-principles calculations, expanding the materials available for spintronics.

Findings

Weyl-type nodal chains found around the Fermi level

Nodal chains protected by glide and mirror symmetries

Nontrivial drumhead surface states observed

Abstract

Recently, magnetic topological semimetals have received a lot of attention due to their potential applications in the field of spintronics. By using first-principles calculations, we propose that two ferromagnetic spinel materials of X2MnO4 (X=Li, Na) have Weyl-type nodal chains around the Fermi level. Their stabilities are validated by cohesive energies, phonon dispersions, and elastic constants. The nodal chains are composed of two types of nodal loops, which are protected by the glide operation Mz, the mirror operation M101 and their equivalent. The drumhead surface states are observed on the (001) surface and they exhibit nontrivial topological features. In addition, under different electron correlations and lattice strains, the semimetal states of these two materials are well kept. Our work provides two promising candidates for exploring the combination of magnetic materials and topological semimetal states.