Discovery of a quantum limit Chern magnet TbMn6Sn6
/ Authors
Jia-Xin Yin, Wenlong Ma, T. Cochran, Xitong Xu, Songtian S. Zhang, Hung-Ju Tien, N. Shumiya, G. Cheng, K. Jiang, Biao Lian
and 16 more authors
Zhida Song, G. Chang, I. Belopolski, Daniel Multer, Maksim Litskevich, Zi-Jia Cheng, Xian P. Yang, Bianca Sloane Swidler, Huibin Zhou, Hsin Lin, T. Neupert, Ziqiang Wang, N. Yao, Tay-Rong Chang, S. Jia, M. Z. Hasan
/ Abstract
The quantum level interplay between geometry, topology, and correlation is at the forefront of fundamental physics. Owing to the unusual lattice geometry and breaking of time-reversal symmetry, kagome magnets are predicted to support intrinsic Chern quantum phases. However, quantum materials hosting ideal spin-orbit coupled kagome lattices with strong out-of-plane magnetization have been lacking. Here we use scanning tunneling microscopy to discover a new topological kagome magnet TbMn6Sn6, which is close to satisfying the above criteria. We visualize its effectively defect-free purely Mn-based ferromagnetic kagome lattice with atomic resolution. Remarkably, its electronic state exhibits distinct Landau quantization upon the application of a magnetic field, and the quantized Landau fan structure features spin-polarized Dirac dispersion with a large Chern gap. We further demonstrate the bulk-boundary correspondence between the Chern gap and topological edge state, as well as the Berry curvature field correspondence of Chern gapped Dirac fermions. Our results point to the realization of a quantum-limit Chern phase in TbMn6Sn6, opening up an avenue for discovering topological quantum phenomena in the RMn6Sn6 (R = rare earth element) family with a variety of magnetic structures. Our visualization of the magnetic bulk-boundary-Berry correspondence covering real and momentum space demonstrates a proof-of-principle method revealing topological magnets.