Spectroscopic evidence for the realization of a genuine topological nodal-line semimetal in LaSbTe

The nodal line semimetals have attracted much attention due to their unique topological electronic structure and exotic physical properties. A genuine nodal-line semimetal is qualified by the presence of Dirac nodes along a line in the momentum space that are protected against the spin-orbit coupling. In addition, it requires that the Dirac points lie close to the Fermi level, allowing one to dictate the macroscopic physical properties. Although the material realization of nodal-line semimetals have been theoretically predicted in numerous compounds, only a few of them have been experimentally verified and the realization of a genuine nodal-line semimetal is particularly rare. Here we report the realization of a genuine nodal-line semimetal in LaSbTe. We investigated the electronic structure of LaSbTe by band structure calculations and angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES) measurements. Taking spin-orbit coupling into account, our band structure calculations predict that a nodal line is formed in the boundary surface of the Brillouin zone, which is robust and lies close to the Fermi level. The Dirac nodes along the X-R line in momentum space are directly observed in our ARPES measurements, and the energies of these Dirac nodes are all close to the Fermi level. These results constitute clear evidence that LaSbTe is a genuine nodal-line semimetal, providing a platform to explore for novel phenomena and possible applications associated with the nodal-line semimetals.

Automated summary

Nodal line semimetals have unique topological electronic structures and exotic physical properties, with only a few compounds experimentally verified; LaSbTe is confirmed as a genuine nodal line semimetal with Dirac nodes that can dictate macroscopic physical properties.