Chen Cong, Zeng Xu-Tao, Yao Wang
Department of Physics, The University of Hong Kong, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 999077, HONG KONG.
Department of Physics, Beihang University, 37 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing, P.R. China, Beijing, Beijing, 100191, CHINA.
Rep Prog Phys. 2024 Dec 13. doi: 10.1088/1361-6633/ad9ed8.
Spinless systems exhibit unique topological characteristics compared to spinful ones, stemming from their distinct algebra. Without chiral interactions typically linked to spin, an intriguing yet unexplored interplay between topological and structural chirality may be anticipated. Here we discover spinless topological chiralities solely from structural chiralities that lie in the 3D spatial patterning of structureless units, exemplified using two types of twisted graphite systems. In a 3D screw twisted structure without periodicity in all directions, we find a chiral Weyl semimetal phase where bulk topology and chiral surface states are both determined by the screw direction. And in a 3D periodic structure formed with layer-alternating twist angle signs, a higher-order Dirac semimetal with chiral hinge states is discovered. Underlying these novel topological states is the intervalley Umklapp scattering that captures the chirality of the twisted interfaces, leading effectively to a sign-flipped chiral interlayer hopping, thereby introducing $\pi$-flux $\mathbb{Z}_2$ lattice gauge field that alters the symmetry algebra. Our findings point to a new pathway for engineering topological chirality through patterning twisted arrays of featureless units, which can expand the design principles for topological photonics and acoustics.
与有自旋的系统相比,无自旋系统表现出独特的拓扑特征,这源于它们不同的代数结构。由于通常与自旋相关的手性相互作用不存在,拓扑手性与结构手性之间可能存在一种有趣但尚未探索的相互作用。在这里,我们仅从无结构单元的三维空间图案化中的结构手性发现了无自旋拓扑手性,以两种类型的扭曲石墨系统为例进行了说明。在一个在所有方向上都没有周期性的三维螺旋扭曲结构中,我们发现了一种手性外尔半金属相,其中体态拓扑和手性表面态都由螺旋方向决定。并且在一个由层交替扭曲角符号形成的三维周期性结构中,发现了一种具有手性棱态的高阶狄拉克半金属。这些新颖拓扑态的基础是谷间倒逆散射,它捕捉了扭曲界面的手性,有效地导致了符号翻转的手性层间跳跃,从而引入了改变对称代数的$\pi$通量$\mathbb{Z}_2$晶格规范场。我们的发现指出了一条通过对无特征单元的扭曲阵列进行图案化来设计拓扑手性的新途径,这可以扩展拓扑光子学和声学的设计原理。