Structural Characterization of Single Crystal CeGaGe

With the interest in topologically protected electronic states for next generation technologies, a considerable effort has been made to find materials with these states that also feature magnetic moments so the interplay between protected electronic states and magnetism can be studied and potentially exploited. Early reports on polycrystalline samples of the magnetic semimetal CeGaGe determined that the material crystallizes in the centrosymmetric space group 141 (I-41/amd). Recent work on similar materials [2,3 among others] suggests that in single crystals, CeGaGe may in fact crystallize in the non-centrosymmetric space group 109 (I-41/md). This distinction has important consequences for the electronic structure which, in these related compounds, feature Weyl nodes in the non-centrosymmetric space group.

 

We have synthesized single crystals of CeGaGe through floating zone refinement and performed structural characterization with powder x-ray diffraction, single crystal x-ray diffraction, and single crystal neutron diffraction (SCND). Results of the definitive SCND characterization are presented.

[1] Y. N. Grin et. al., J. of the Less Com. Metals 167, 365 (1991)

[2] G. Chang et. al., Phys. Rev. B 97, 041104 (2018)

[3] H. Hodovanets et. al., Phys. Rev. B 98, 245132 (2018)