Plasmons in a two-dimensional nonsymmorphic nodal-line semimetal

Abstract: Recent experiments have established a type of nonsymmorphic symmetry protected nodal lines in the family of two-dimensional (2D) composition tunable materials NbSi$_x$Te$_2$. Here, we theoretically study the plasmonic properties of such nonsymmorphic nodal-line semimetals. We show that the nonsymmorphic character endows the plasmons with extremely strong anisotropy. There exist both intraband and interband plasmon branches. The intraband branch is gapless and has a $q^{1/2}$ dispersion. It is most dispersive and is independent of carrier density in direction normal to the nodal line, whereas along the nodal line, its dispersion is largely suppressed and its frequency scales linearly with carrier density. The interband branches are gapped and their long wavelength limits are connected with van Hove singularities of the band structure. We find that the single particle excitations are strongly suppressed in such systems, which decreases the Landau damping of plasmons. These characters are further verified by first-principles calculations on 2D NbSi$_x$Te$_2$. Interesting features in static screening of charged impurity are also discussed. Our result reveals characteristic plasmons in a class of nonsymmorphic topological semimetals and offers guidance for its experimental detection and possible applications.