Experimental signatures of a versatile Weyl semimetal in a pyrochlore iridate with spin-ice-like magnetic orders

We report experimental signatures of topological transitions among the Weyl semimetal states of pyrochlore Pr2Ir2O7, where the Kondo coupling between the Jr topological electrons and the spin-ice-like orders of Pr moments plays a decisive role. The magnetic-field dependence of resistivity and the Hall conductivity exhibits a plateau and a sharp jump associated with a magnetic-field hysteresis, similar to a liquid-gas-like transition in a dipolar spin-ice system. Furthermore, the Kondo coupling is controlled by hydrostatic pressure, revealing that the field-induced displacement of Weyl points in the momentum space strongly depends on the respective electronic state as well as on the Kondo coupling strength. These observations pave a route toward the engineering of band topology in hybrid quantum materials with relativistic conduction electrons and localized magnetic moments.

Automated summary

We report experimental signatures of topological transitions among the Weyl semimetal states of pyrochlore Pr2Ir2O7, where the Kondo coupling between the Jr topological electrons and the spin-ice-like orders of Pr moments plays a decisive role. The magnetic-field dependence of resistivity and the Hall conductivity exhibits a plateau and a sharp jump associated with a magnetic-field hysteresis, similar to a liquid-gas-like transition in a dipolar spin-ice system. Furthermore, the Kondo coupling is controlled by hydrostatic pressure, revealing that the field-induced displacement of Weyl points in the momentum space strongly depends on the respective electronic state as well as on the Kondo coupling strength. These observations pave a route toward the engineering of band topology in hybrid quantum materials with relativistic conduction electrons and localized magnetic moments.