title: NMR Evidence for the Topologically Nontrivial Nature in a Family of Half-Heusler Compounds.
abstract: Spin-orbit coupling (SOC) is expected to partly determine the topologically nontrivial electronic structure of heavy half-Heusler ternary compounds. However, to date, attempts to experimentally observe either the strength of SOC or how it modifies the bulk band structure have been unsuccessful. By using bulk-sensitive nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy combined with first-principles calculations, we reveal that (209)Bi NMR isotropic shifts scale with relativity in terms of the strength of SOC and average atomic numbers, indicating strong relativistic effects on NMR parameters. According to first-principles calculations, we further claim that nuclear magnetic shieldings from relativistic p1/2 states and paramagnetic contributions from low-lying unoccupied p3/2 states are both sensitive to the details of band structures tuned by relativity, which explains why the hidden relativistic effects on band structure can be revealed by (209)Bi NMR isotropic shifts in topologically nontrivial half-Heusler compounds. Used in complement to surface-sensitive methods, such as angle resolved photon electron spectroscopy and scanning tunneling spectroscopy, NMR can provide valuable information on bulk electronic states.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Magnetism, Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoming
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Magnetism, Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Zhipeng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Magnetism, Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Magnetism, Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Guizhou
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Magnetism, Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Chenglong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Magnetism, Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: EnKe
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Magnetism, Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Xuekui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xi
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Magnetism, Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Wenhong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Magnetism, Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Guangheng
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Physical Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Xi-Xiang
authors.initials: XX
authors.lastname: Zhang