Spin density wave and van Hove singularity in the kagome metal CeTi3Bi4

Kagome metals with van Hove singularities (VHSs) near the Fermi level can host intriguing quantum phenomena, including chiral loop currents, electronic nematicity, and unconventional superconductivity. However, unconventional magnetic states driven by VHSs, such as spin-density waves (SDWs), have yet to be observed experimentally in kagome metals. Here, we present a comprehensive investigation of the magnetic and electronic structure of the layered kagome metal CeTi3Bi4, where the Ti kagome electronic structure interacts with a magnetic sublattice of Ce3+ Jeff = 1/2 moments. Our neutron diffraction measurements reveal an incommensurate SDW ground state of the Ce3+ Jeff = 1/2 moments, which notably coexists with commensurate antiferromagnetic order across most of the temperature-field phase diagram. The commensurate component is preferentially suppressed by both thermal fluctuations and external magnetic fields, resulting in a rich phase diagram that includes an intermediate single-Q SDW phase. First-principles calculations and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) measurements identify VHSs near the Fermi level, with the observed magnetic propagation vectors connecting their high density of states, strongly suggesting a VHS-assisted SDW in CeTi3Bi4. These findings establish the rare-earth Kagome metals LnTi3Bi4 as a model platform where characteristic electronic structure of the kagome lattice plays a pivotal role in magnetic order.
Comment: 20 pages, 4 figures, SI not included