The distinction of time-reversal-like degeneracy by electronic transport in a new compound

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery of a new compound, Ce$_3$MgBi$_5$, exhibiting hidden time-reversal-like degeneracies revealed through electronic transport measurements, highlighting novel symmetry properties in frustrated magnetic systems.

Contribution

The study uncovers hidden time-reversal-like degenerate states in Ce$_3$MgBi$_5$ using transport measurements, providing new insights into symmetry detection in magnetic materials.

Findings

Hysteresis observed in magnetoresistance and Hall resistivity at 1/2 magnetization plateau.

Degenerate states with same magnetization but different transport properties identified.

Crystal structure may shield and influence the distinction of these degenerate states.

Abstract

We report the discovery of a new compound, Ce$_3$MgBi$_5$, and reveal the hidden time-reversal-like degenerate states within it. Ce$_3$MgBi$_5$ is an antiferromagnet with the distorted kagome lattice of Ce atoms, in which several fractional magnetization plateaus emerge with the increase of magnetic field. At the 1/2 magnetization plateau, obvious hysteresis has been observed in the magnetoresistance and Hall resistivity during the rise and fall of the magnetic field. However, hysteresis vanishes in the corresponding measurements of magnetization, indicating the existence of degenerate states with the same net magnetization but different electronic transport properties. The degenerate states can be connected by the time-reversal-like operation. In addition, by comparing with HoAgGe, it is suggested that the special crystal structure in Ce$_3$MgBi$_5$ may have a shielding effect on the time-reversal-like operation, thereby affecting the distinction of degenerate states. Our work establishes Ce$_3$MgBi$_5$ as an example of utilizing electronic transport properties to identify and distinguish hidden symmetries in frustrated magnetic systems.