The kagomé metals RbTi$_3$Bi$_5$ and CsTi$_3$Bi$_5$

The kagomé metals RbTi$_3$Bi$_5$ and CsTi$_3$Bi$_5$ were synthesized both as polycrystalline powders by heating the elements an argon atmosphere and as single crystals grown using a self-flux method. The compounds crystallize in the hexagonal crystal system isotypically to KV$_3$Sb$_5$ (P6/mmm, Z = 1, CsTi3Bi5: a = 5.7873(1) Å, c = 9.2062(1) Å; RbTi3Bi5: a = 5.773(1) Å, c = 9.065(1) Å). Titanium atoms form a kagomé net with bismuth atoms in the hexagons as well as above and below the triangles. The alkali metal atoms are coordinated by 12 bismuth atoms and form AlB$_2$-like slabs between the kagomé layers. Magnetic susceptibility measurements with CsTi$_3$Bi$_5$ and RbTi$_3$Bi$_5$ single crystals reveal Pauli-paramagnetism and traces of superconductivity caused by CsBi$_2$/RbBi$_2$ impurities. Magnetotransport measurements reveal conventional Fermi liquid behavior and quantum oscillations indicative of a single dominant orbit at low temperature. DFT calculations show the characteristic metallic kagomé band structure similar to that of CsV$_3$Sb$_5$ with reduced band filling. A symmetry analysis of the band structure does not reveal an obvious and unique signature of a nontrivial topology.
20 pages, 5 Figures, submitted