Deep-lying semi-Dirac fermions in hexagonal close-packed cadmium
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Semi-Dirac fermions are massless in one direction and massive in the perpendicular directions. Such quasiparticles have been proposed in various contexts in condensed matter. Using first principles calculations, we identify a pair of semi-Dirac bands anti-crossing at −3 eV below the Fermi level in the electronic structure of hexagonal close-packed cadmium. The linear out-of-plane dispersion is kept up to the Fermi level. We demonstrate that the dichotomy between the linear and quadratic dispersions is driven by an orientation-sensitive hybridization between the s and p z orbitals. The upper semi-Dirac band produces a lens-shaped nonellipsoidal Fermi sheet whose cross-section area has a k -dependence that is in excellent agreement with the experimentally measured period of Sondheimer oscillations.
Authors: Alaska Subedi, Kamran Behnia
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,325
OpenAlex ID: W4415530216