Magnetic field-induced non-linear transport in HfTe5

Cheng Zhang; Jinshan Yang; Zhongbo Yan; Xiang Yuan; Yanwen Liu; Minhao Zhao; Alexey Suslov; Jinglei Zhang; Li Pi; Zhong Wang; Faxian Xiu

doi:10.1093/nsr/nwab208

Magnetic field-induced non-linear transport in HfTe₅

Natl Sci Rev. 2021 Nov 26;9(10):nwab208. doi: 10.1093/nsr/nwab208. eCollection 2022 Oct.

Authors

Cheng Zhang^{1

2

3}, Jinshan Yang⁴, Zhongbo Yan⁵, Xiang Yuan⁶, Yanwen Liu², Minhao Zhao², Alexey Suslov⁷, Jinglei Zhang⁸, Li Pi⁸, Zhong Wang^{9

10}, Faxian Xiu^{1

11

2

3

12}

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics and Institute for Nanoelectronic Devices and Quantum Computing, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics and Department of Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China.
³ Zhangjiang Fudan International Innovation Center, Fudan University, Shanghai 201210, China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of High-Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, China.
⁵ School of Physics, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China.
⁶ State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China.
⁷ National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Tallahassee, FL 32310, USA.
⁸ Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Condensed Matter Physics at Extreme Conditions, High Magnetic Field Laboratory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031, China.
⁹ Institute for Advanced Study, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
¹⁰ Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter, Beijing 100871, China.
¹¹ Shanghai Qi Zhi Institute, Shanghai 200232, China.
¹² Shanghai Research Center for Quantum Sciences, Shanghai 201315, China.

Abstract

The interplay of electron correlations and topological phases gives rise to various exotic phenomena including fractionalization, excitonic instability and axionic excitation. Recently discovered transition-metal pentatellurides can reach the ultra-quantum limit in low magnetic fields and serve as good candidates for achieving such a combination. Here, we report evidence of density wave and metal-insulator transition in HfTe₅ induced by intense magnetic fields. Using the non-linear transport technique, we detect a distinct non-linear conduction behavior in the longitudinal resistivity within the a-c plane, corresponding to the formation of a density wave induced by magnetic fields. In high fields, the onset of non-linear conduction in the Hall resistivity indicates an impurity-pinned magnetic freeze-out as the possible origin of the insulating behavior. These frozen electrons can be gradually reactivated into mobile states above a threshold of electric field. This experimental evidence calls for further investigation into the underlying mechanism of the bulk quantum Hall effect and field-induced phase transitions in pentatellurides.

Keywords: density wave; electron correlation; non-linear transport; quantum transport; topological state.