Quasi One Dimensional Dirac Electrons on the Surface of Ru2Sn3

Abstract

We present an ARPES study of the surface states of Ru 2 Sn 3, a new type of a strong 3D topological insulator (TI). In contrast to currently known 3D TIs, which display two-dimensional Dirac cones with linear isotropic dispersions crossing through one point in the surface Brillouin Zone (SBZ), the surface states on Ru 2 Sn 3 are highly anisotropic, displaying an almost flat dispersion along certain high-symmetry directions. This results in quasi-one dimensional (1D) Dirac electronic states throughout the SBZ that we argue are inherited from features in the bulk electronic structure of Ru2 Sn3 where the bulk conduction bands are highly anisotropic. Unlike previous experimentally characterized TIs, the topological surface states of Ru 2 Sn3 are the result of a d-p band inversion rather than an s-p band inversion. The observed surface states are the topological equivalent to a single 2D Dirac cone at the surface Brillouin zone.