Topology of <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:msub><mml:mi>SmB</mml:mi><mml:mn>6</mml:mn></mml:msub></mml:math> determined by dynamical mean field theory

Abstract

Whether ${\mathrm{SmB}}_{6}$ is a topological insulator remains hotly debated. Our density functional theory plus dynamical mean field theory calculations are in excellent agreement with a large range of experiments, from the $4{f}^{5.5}$ intermediate valency to x-ray and photoemission spectra. We show that ${\mathrm{SmB}}_{6}$ is a strongly correlated topological insulator, albeit not a Kondo insulator, using a symmetry analysis of the ``pole extended'' Hamiltonian, which fully captures the effect of the self-energy arising from the strong electron-electron correlation within the Sm $4f$ orbitals. The topological surface states are analyzed, addressing conflicting interpretations of photoemission data.

Topics & Concepts