Interplay of magnetism and correlated electron behavior in the kagome metal
Phys. Rev. B 113, 075101 – Published 2 February, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/5x1m-9st7
Abstract
Kagome-based magnetic metals are recognized as exemplary systems for the study of quantum materials, offering a distinctive framework to investigate the interrelation of topologically nontrivial electronic structures, geometrically frustrated magnetic moments (), and strongly correlated electron phenomena. The growth and detailed analysis of the kagome metal are reported, in which a kagome network of Nb atoms is integrated with a triangularly frustrated arrangement of localized moments. High-quality crystals are found to adopt the centrosymmetric -type structure (/mmm), with lattice constants precisely refined to and . Striking uniaxial anisotropy is revealed by magnetization measurements, with the magnetic susceptibility along the direction exceeding the in-plane susceptibility by nearly 50-fold just above 3 K, indicating a strong out-of-plane alignment preference of the moments. Two successive magnetic transitions are observed at zero magnetic field at K and K. When a magnetic field is applied along the direction, four distinct metamagnetic transitions are observed at low temperatures, culminating in a fully polarized moment of 8.24 /Tb ion at 2 K above 3.6 T, as evidenced by both magnetization and resistivity measurements. A positive, nonsaturating magnetoresistance and a nonlinear Hall effect are exhibited by the compound across the full temperature range studied. First-principles calculations show that the Fermi level is dominated by Nb orbitals, which generate kagome-derived bands featuring Dirac crossings and Van Hove singularities indicative of nontrivial topology. The potential of the family as a versatile platform for realizing emergent quantum states is highlighted by the combination of tunable magnetic anisotropy, complex spin textures, and multiband conduction.