Rare-earth monopnoctides -- family of antiferromagnets hosting magnetic Fermi arcs

TL;DR

This paper reveals that rare-earth monopnictides like CeBi, NdBi, and NdSb exhibit magnetic Fermi arcs in their antiferromagnetic state, offering new insights into topological magnetic materials and potential spintronics applications.

Contribution

It demonstrates the presence of magnetic Fermi arcs in RBi and RSb series during AFM transition, expanding the understanding of magnetic topological materials.

Findings

Fermi arcs appear in NdSb, CeBi, NdBi during AFM transition

Fermi arcs in NdSb show 2-fold symmetry and anisotropy

RBi and RSb series are potential platforms for spintronics

Abstract

Since the discovery of topological insulators a lot of research effort has been devoted to magnetic topological materials, in which non-trivial spin properties can be controlled by magnetic fields, culminating in a wealth of fundamental phenomena and possible applications. The main focus was on ferromagnetic materials that can host Weyl fermions and therefore spin textured Fermi arcs. The recent discovery of Fermi arcs and new magnetic bands splitting in antiferromagnet (AFM) NdBi has opened up new avenues for exploration. Here we show that these uncharted effects are not restricted to this specific compound, but rather emerge in CeBi, NdBi, and NdSb when they undergo paramagnetic to AFM transition. Our data show that the Fermi arcs in NdSb have 2-fold symmetry, leading to strong anisotropy that may enhance effects of spin textures on transport properties. Our findings thus demonstrate that the RBi and RSb series are materials that host magnetic Fermi arcs and may be a potential platform for modern spintronics.