Title: Excitonic Instability and Pseudogap Formation in Nodal Line Semimetal ZrSiS,
Abstract: Electron correlation effects are studied in ZrSiS using a combination of
first-principles and model approaches. We show that basic electronic properties
of ZrSiS can be described within a two-dimensional lattice model of two nested
square lattices. High degree of electron-hole symmetry characteristic for ZrSiS
is one of the key features of this model. Having determined model parameters
from first-principles calculations, we then explicitly take electron-electron
interactions into account and show that at moderately low temperatures ZrSiS
exhibits excitonic instability, leading to the formation of a pseudogap in the
electronic spectrum. The results can be understood in terms of
Coulomb-interaction-assisted pairing of electrons and holes reminiscent to that
of an excitonic insulator. Our finding allows us to provide a physical
interpretation to the unusual mass enhancement of charge carriers in ZrSiS
recently observed experimentally.