Symmetry-Enforced Topology and Van Hove Saddle Points in Hexagonal TiAs
We report the first successful growth of stoichiometric hexagonal TiAs single crystals (space group $P6_3/mmc$) using chemical vapor transport and investigate their vibrational, electronic, topological, and magnetotransport properties. Polarized Raman spectroscopy identifies all four Raman-active phonon modes ($A_{1g} + E_{1g} + 2E_{2g}$), consistent with the hexagonal crystal symmetry. First-principles calculations reveal nontrivial band topology characterized by a symmetry indicator $\mathbb{Z}_4 = 2$ and a strong topological index $ν_0 = 1$, together with symmetry-protected fourfold band degeneracies at the nonsymmorphic Brillouin-zone boundary. The Fermi surface exhibits an orbital-dependent crossover from quasi-two-dimensional cylindrical sheets to a corrugated three-dimensional structure along $k_z$. A Van Hove saddle point approximately 0.5 eV below the Fermi level along $Γ\text{--}K$ is associated with a neck-disrupting Lifshitz transition and enhanced density of states. Magnetotransport measurements reveal a pronounced twofold angular magnetoresistance, consistent with anisotropic Fermi-surface geometry and open cyclotron orbits. Hall measurements indicate uncompensated, hole-dominated transport, accounting for the absence of extreme magnetoresistance and contributing to the field-orientation-dependent Hall response. These results establish hexagonal TiAs as a platform for exploring the interplay of nonsymmorphic band topology, Van Hove singularities, and anisotropic electronic transport in transition-metal monopnictides.