Electronic correlations and topology in Kondo insulator <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>PuB</mml:mi> <mml:mn>6</mml:mn> </mml:msub> </mml:math>

Utilizing a combination of dynamical mean field theory (DMFT) and density functional theory, it has been theoretically proposed that <a:math xmlns:a="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <a:msub> <a:mi>PuB</a:mi> <a:mn>6</a:mn> </a:msub> </a:math> is a strongly correlated topological insulator characterized by nontrivial <b:math xmlns:b="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <b:msub> <b:mi mathvariant="bold">Z</b:mi> <b:mn>2</b:mn> </b:msub> </b:math> topological invariants and metallic surface states [X. Deng , ]. Here, we demonstrate through low-temperature magnetotransport measurements and first-principles calculations that <d:math xmlns:d="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <d:msub> <d:mrow> <d:mi>PuB</d:mi> </d:mrow> <d:mn>6</d:mn> </d:msub> </d:math> exhibits characteristics of a topological Kondo insulating state. These features include a transition in electrical resistivity from high-temperature, thermally activated behavior with a narrow gap at the Fermi level ( <e:math xmlns:e="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <e:mrow> <e:mi mathvariant="normal">Δ</e:mi> <e:mi>ρ</e:mi> <e:mo>∼</e:mo> <e:mn>20</e:mn> <e:mspace width="0.16em"/> <e:mi>meV</e:mi> </e:mrow> </e:math> ) to a distinctive low-temperature plateau, as well as a surface-to-volume dependence of electrical resistivity at low temperatures. The topological nature of <h:math xmlns:h="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <h:msub> <h:mi>PuB</h:mi> <h:mn>6</h:mn> </h:msub> </h:math> is further supported by the theoretical calculations, which show that <i:math xmlns:i="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <i:mrow> <i:mi>GGA</i:mi> <i:mo>+</i:mo> <i:mi>U</i:mi> </i:mrow> </i:math> is capable of capturing electronic, topological, and lattice properties of <j:math xmlns:j="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <j:msub> <j:mi>PuB</j:mi> <j:mn>6</j:mn> </j:msub> </j:math> with much lower computational cost than DMFT.