Effect of incommensurate potential on nodal-link semimetals

Abstract

We explore the effect of an incommensurate potential on nodal-link semimetals. For system with surface states, we show the nodal-link semimetal undergoes a series of phase transitions: first into a metallic phase, then to a loop semimetal phase and back to a metallic phase with increasing the strength of incommensurate potential. The phase transitions are unveiled by analyzing the properties of energy spectra and wave functions. We also study the system without surface states and find that the Fermi surface evolves from lines to loops before the system enters into a metallic phase when increasing the incommensurate potential strength.