Phononic drumhead surface state in the distorted kagome compound RhPb

Abstract

RhPb was initially recognized as one of CoSn-like compounds with P6/mmm symmetry, containing an ideal kagome lattice of d-block atoms. However, theoretical calculations predict the realization of the phonon soft mode, which leads to the kagome lattice distortion and stabilization of the structure with P6[over ¯]2m symmetry [A. Ptok et al., Phys. Rev. B 104, 054305 (2021)2469-995010.1103/PhysRevB.104.054305]. Here, we present the single crystal x-ray diffraction results supporting this prediction. Furthermore, we discuss the main dynamical properties of RhPb with P6[over ¯]2m symmetry, i.e. phonon dispersions and surface Green's functions using the modern theoretical methods based on density functional theory. The bulk phononic dispersion curves contain several flattened bands, Dirac nodal lines, and triple degenerate Dirac points. As a consequence, the phononic drumhead surface state is realized for the (100) surface, terminated by the zigzaglike edge of Pb honeycomb sublattice.