Multifold fermion systems feature free fermionic excitations, which have no counterparts in high-energy physics, and exhibit several unconventional properties. Using first-principles calculations, we predict that strain engineering can be used to control the distribution of topological charges in transition metal silicide candidate CoSi, hosting multifold fermions. We demonstrate that breaking the rotational symmetry of the system, by choosing a suitable strain, destroys the multifold fermions, and at the same time results in the creation of Weyl points. We introduce a low energy effective model to complement the results obtained from density functional calculations. Our findings suggest that strain-engineering is a useful approach to tune topological properties of multifold fermions.
The discovery of time-reversal-invariant topological states has drawn great attention in recent decades. However, despite the potential of displaying a variety of exotic physics, the study of magnetic topological phases lags behind due to underlying added complexity of magnetism. In this work, we predict the interplay of magnetism and topology in the non-centrosymmetric ternary manganese compound MnIn2Te4, using first-principles calculations. At ambient pressure, the ground state of the system is an antiferromagnetic insulator. With the application of small hydrostatic pressure (∼0.50 GPa), it undergoes a magnetic transition and the ferromagnetic state becomes energetically favourable. At ∼2.92 GPa, the system undergoes a transition into a Weyl semimetallic phase, which hosts multiple Weyl points in the bulk and is associated with non-trivial surface Fermi arcs. Remarkably, we discover that the number of Weyl points in this system can be controlled by pressure and that these manifest in an anomalous Hall conductivity (AHC). In addition to proposing a new candidate magnetic topological material, our work demonstrates that pressure can be an effective way to induce and control topological phases, as well as AHC, in magnetic materials. These properties may allow our proposed material to be used as a novel pressure-controlled Hall switch.
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