Subscribe to the gold package and get unlimited access to Shamra Academy
Register a new userUniversal higher-order bulk-boundary correspondence of triple nodal points
250
0
0.0
(
0
)
Added by
Patrick M. Lenggenhager
Publication date
2021
fields
Physics
and research's language is
English
Ask ChatGPT about the research
No Arabic abstract
Triple nodal points are degeneracies of energy bands in momentum space at which three Hamiltonian eigenstates coalesce at a single eigenenergy. For spinless particles, the stability of a triple nodal point requires two ingredients: rotation symmetry of order three, four or six; combined with mirror or space-time-inversion symmetry. However, despite ample studies of their classification, robust boundary signatures of triple nodal points have until now remained elusive. In this work, we first show that pairs of triple nodal points in semimetals and metals can be characterized by Stiefel-Whitney and Euler monopole invariants, of which the first one is known to facilitate higher-order topology. Motivated by this observation, we then combine symmetry indicators for corner charges and for the Stiefel-Whitney invariant in two dimensions with the classification of triple nodal points for spinless systems in three dimensions. The result is a complete higher-order bulk-boundary correspondence, where pairs of triple nodal points are characterized by fractional jumps of the hinge charge. We present minimal models of the various species of triple nodal points carrying higher-order topology, and illustrate the derived correspondence on Sc$_3$AlC which becomes a higher-order triple-point metal in applied strain. The generalization to spinful systems, in particular to the WC-type triple-point material class, is briefly outlined.
rate research
Read More
A two-dimensional (2D) topological semimetal is characterized by the nodal points in its low-energy band structure. While the linear nodal points have been extensively studied, especially in the context of graphene, the realm beyond linear nodal points remains largely unexplored. Here, we explore the possibility of higher-order nodal points, i.e., points with higher-order energy dispersions, in 2D systems. We perform an exhaustive search over all 80 layer groups both with and without spin-orbit coupling (SOC), and reveal all possible higher-order nodal points. We show that they can be classified into two categories: the quadratic nodal point (QNP) and the cubic nodal point (CNP). All the 2D higher-order nodal points have twofold degeneracy, and the order of dispersion cannot be higher than three. QNPs only exist in the absence of SOC, whereas CNPs only exist in the presence of SOC. Particularly, the CNPs represent a new topological state not known before. We show that they feature nontrivial topological charges, leading to extensive topological edge bands. Our work completely settles the problem of higher-order nodal points, discovers novel topological states in 2D, and provides detailed guidance to realize these states. Possible material candidates and experimental signatures are discussed.
Periodically-driven or Floquet systems can realize anomalous topological phenomena that do not exist in any equilibrium states of matter, whose classification and characterization require new theoretical ideas that are beyond the well-established paradigm of static topological phases. In this work, we provide a general framework to understand anomalous Floquet higher-order topological insulators (AFHOTIs), the classification of which has remained a challenging open question. In two dimensions (2D), such AFHOTIs are defined by their robust, symmetry-protected corner modes pinned at special quasienergies, even though all their Floquet bands feature trivial band topology. The corner-mode physics of an AFHOTI is found to be generically indicated by 3D Dirac/Weyl-like topological singularities living in the phase spectrum of the bulk time-evolution operator. Physically, such a phase-band singularity is essentially a footprint of the topological quantum criticality, which separates an AFHOTI from a trivial phase adiabatically connected to a static limit. Strikingly, these singularities feature unconventional dispersion relations that cannot be achieved on any static lattice in 3D, which, nevertheless, resemble the surface physics of 4D topological crystalline insulators. We establish the above higher-order bulk-boundary correspondence through a dimensional reduction technique, which also allows for a systematic classification of 2D AFHOTIs protected by point group symmetries. We demonstrate applications of our theory to two concrete, experimentally feasible models of AFHOTIs protected by $C_2$ and $D_4$ symmetries, respectively. Our work paves the way for a unified theory for classifying and characterizing Floquet topological matters.
Nodal lines, as one-dimensional band degeneracies in momentum space, usually feature a linear energy splitting. Here, we propose the concept of magnetic higher-order nodal lines, which are nodal lines with higher-order energy splitting and realized in magnetic systems with broken time reversal symmetry. We provide sufficient symmetry conditions for stabilizing magnetic quadratic and cubic nodal lines, based on which concrete lattice models are constructed to demonstrate their existence. Unlike its counterpart in nonmagnetic systems, the magnetic quadratic nodal line can exist as the only band degeneracy at the Fermi level. We show that these nodal lines can be accompanied by torus surface states, which form a surface band that span over the whole surface Brillouin zone. Under symmetry breaking, these magnetic nodal lines can be transformed into a variety of interesting topological states, such as three-dimensional quantum anomalous Hall insulator, multiple linear nodal lines, and magnetic triple-Weyl semimetal. The three-dimensional quantum anomalous Hall insulator features a Hall conductivity $sigma_{xy}$ quantized in unit of $e^2/(hd)$ where $d$ is the lattice constant normal to the $x$-$y$ plane. Our work reveals previously unknown topological states, and offers guidance to search for them in realistic material systems.
In this work, we study the disorder effects on the bulk-boundary correspondence of two-dimensional higher-order topological insulators (HOTIs). We concentrate on two cases: (i) bulk-corner correspondence, (ii) edge-corner correspondence. For the bulk-corner correspondence case, we demonstrate the existence of the mobility gaps and clarify the related topological invariant that characterizes the mobility gap. Furthermore, we find that, while the system preserves the bulk-corner correspondence in the presence of disorder, the corner states are protected by the mobility gap instead of the bulk gap. For the edge-corner correspondence case, we show that the bulk mobility gap and edge band gaps of HOTIs are no longer closed simultaneously. Therefore, a rich phase diagram is obtained, including various disorder-induced phase transition processes. Notably, a disorder-induced transition from the non-trivial to trivial phase is realized, distinguishing the HOTIs from the other topological states. Our results deepen the understanding of bulk-boundary correspondence and enrich the topological phase transitions of disordered HOTIs.
The bulk-boundary correspondence in one dimension asserts that the physical quantities defined in the bulk and at the edge are connected, as well established in the argument for electric polarization. Recently, a spectral bulk-boundary correspondence (SBBC), an extended version of the conventional bulk-boundary correspondence to energy-dependent spectral functions, such as Greens functions, has been proposed in chiral symmetric systems, in which the chiral operator anticommutes with the Hamiltonian. In this study, we extend the SBBC to a system with impurity scattering and dynamical self-energies, regardless of the presence or absence of a gap in the energy spectrum. Moreover, the SBBC is observed to hold even in a system without chiral symmetry, which substantially generalizes its concept. The SBBC is demonstrated with concrete models, such as superconducting nanowires and a normal metallic chain. Its potential applications and certain remaining issues are also discussed.
Log in to be able to interact and post comments
comments
Fetching comments
Sign in to be able to follow your search criteria
