Strain-induced nonsymmorphic symmetry breaking and removal of Dirac semimetallic nodal line in an orthoperovskite iridate

Publication Type
Journal Article
Authors
DOI
10.1103/PhysRevB.93.085118
Abstract
By using a combination of heteroepitaxial growth, structure refinement based on synchrotron x-ray diffraction, and first-principles calculations, we show that the symmetry-protected Dirac line nodes in the topological semimetallic perovskite SrIrO3 can be lifted simply by applying epitaxial constraints. In particular, the Dirac gap opens without breaking the Pbnm mirror symmetry. In virtue of a symmetry-breaking analysis, we demonstrate that the original symmetry protection is related to the n-glide operation, which can be selectively broken by different heteroepitaxial structures. This symmetry protection renders the nodal line a nonsymmorphic Dirac semimetallic state. The results highlight the vital role of crystal symmetry in spin-orbit-coupled correlated oxides and provide a foundation for experimental realization of topological insulators in iridate-based heterostructures. © 2016 American Physical Society.
Notes
cited By 52
Journal
Physical Review B
Volume
93
Year of Publication
2016
Number
8
Publisher
American Physical Society
ISSN Number
24699950
Research Areas
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