Crossover of Magnetoresistance from Fourfold to Twofold Symmetry in SmB6 Single Crystal, a topological Kondo insulator

Abstract

Topological Kondo insulators have been attracting great attention from the condensed-matter physics community due to their fascinating topological and strongly correlated properties. Here, we report angle-dependent c-axis magnetoresistance (MR) oscillations in a Kondo insulator, SmB6 single crystal, in a magnetic field of up to 13 T rotated in the ab-plane. Four-fold symmetric MR oscillations are first observed above 8 K, which result from the four-fold (C4) degeneracy of the bulk Fermi surface of SmB6. With decreasing temperature down to 2.3 K, the C4 symmetry of the MR oscillations gradually weakens and C2 symmetry appears. This demonstrates a crossover from three-dimensional bulk states to two-dimensional surface states and implies the possible emergence of topological nematic states. Our experimental observations shed new light on the metallic surface states and nematic states in the Kondo insulator SmB6.

8 pages, 4 figures

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Cited by in corpus (6)

• Topological surface states interacting with bulk excitations in the Kondo insulator SmB${}_6$ revealed via planar tunneling spectroscopy
• Pressure-induced quantum phase transitions in topological insulator YbB6
• Excitonic and Nematic Instabilities on the Surface of Topological Kondo Insulators
• Electrical detection of surface spin polarization of candidate topological Kondo insulator SmB6
• Thermoelectric signals of state transition in polycrystalline SmB6
• Modulation of crystal and electronic structures in topological insulators by rare-earth doping