Negative flat band magnetism in a spin–orbit-coupled correlated kagome magnet

Electronic systems with flat bands are predicted to be a fertile ground for hosting emergent phenomena including unconventional magnetism and superconductivity ^1–15 , but materials that manifest this feature are rare. Here, we use scanning tunnelling microscopy to elucidate the atomically resolved electronic states and their magnetic response in the kagome magnet Co ₃ Sn ₂ S ₂ (refs. ^16–20 ). We observe a pronounced peak at the Fermi level, which we identify as arising from the kinetically frustrated kagome flat band. On increasing the magnetic field up to ±8 T, this state exhibits an anomalous magnetization-polarized many-body Zeeman shift, dominated by an orbital moment that is opposite to the field direction. Such negative magnetism is induced by spin–orbit-coupling quantum phase effects ^21–25 tied to non-trivial flat band systems. We image the flat band peak, resolve the associated negative magnetism and provide its connection to the Berry curvature field, showing that Co ₃ Sn ₂ S ₂ is a rare example of a kagome magnet where the low-energy physics can be dominated by the spin–orbit-coupled flat band.