Spin-orbit quantum impurity in a topological magnet
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- s41467-020-18111-6
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Quantum states induced by single-atomic impurities are at the frontier of physics and material science. While such states have been reported in high-temperature superconductors and dilute magnetic semiconductors, they are unexplored in topological magnets which can feature spin-orbit tunability. Here we use spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/S) to study the engineered quantum impurity in a topological magnet Co3Sn2S2. We find that each substituted In impurity introduces a striking localized bound state. Our systematic magnetization-polarized probe reveals that this bound state is spin-down polarized, in lock with a negative orbital magnetization. Moreover, the magnetic bound states of neighboring impurities interact to form quantized orbitals, exhibiting an intriguing spin-orbit splitting, analogous to the splitting of the topological fermion line. Our work collectively demonstrates the strong spin-orbit effect of the single-atomic impurity at the quantum level, suggesting that a nonmagnetic impurity can introduce spin-orbit coupled magnetic resonance in topological magnets. Single-atomic impurities may induce novel quantum state, but they are unexplored in topological magnets. Here, the authors report spin-down polarized bound states which further interact with neighboring states to form spin-orbit split quantized orbitals in a topological magnet Co3Sn2S2.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 4415 |
Journal | Nature Communications |
Volume | 11 |
Issue number | 1 |
Number of pages | 6 |
ISSN | 2041-1723 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 4 Sep 2020 |
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