Combining topological states of matter with strong electron correlation promises many exotic phenomena such as charge fractionalization, excitonic instability, and axionic excitation. Layered transition-metal pentatellurides ZrTe5 and HfTe5 were found to be close to an accidental topological semimetal phase with low carrier density. Even in a relatively low magnetic field, they can form highly degenerated Landau levels and dramatically enhance the correlation effect of Dirac electrons therein. Therefore, these pentatellurides are good candidates for tunable correlated topological states. This phenomenon was examined in a recent study led by Prof. Faxian Xiu and Prof. Cheng Zhang from Fudan University.
Click here for original story, A nonlinear-transport perspective of field-induced phase transitions in pentatellurides
Source: Phys.org