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Title: Spin-resolved topology and partial axion angles in three-dimensional insulators

Abstract

Abstract Symmetry-protected topological crystalline insulators (TCIs) have primarily been characterized by their gapless boundary states. However, in time-reversal- ( $$$${{{{{{{\mathcal{T}}}}}}}}$$$$ T -) invariant (helical) 3D TCIs—termed higher-order TCIs (HOTIs)—the boundary signatures can manifest as a sample-dependent network of 1D hinge states. We here introduce nested spin-resolved Wilson loops and layer constructions as tools to characterize the intrinsic bulk topological properties of spinful 3D insulators. We discover that helical HOTIs realize one of three spin-resolved phases with distinct responses that are quantitatively robust to large deformations of the bulk spin-orbital texture: 3D quantum spin Hall insulators (QSHIs), “spin-Weyl” semimetals, and $$$${{{{{{{\mathcal{T}}}}}}}}$$$$ T -doubled axion insulator (T-DAXI) states with nontrivial partial axion angles indicative of a 3D spin-magnetoelectric bulk response and half-quantized 2D TI surface states originating from a partial parity anomaly. Using ab-initio calculations, we demonstrate that β -MoTe 2 realizes a spin-Weyl state and that α -BiBr hosts both 3D QSHI and T-DAXI regimes.


Citation Formats

Lin, Kuan-Sen, Palumbo, Giandomenico, Guo, Zhaopeng, Hwang, Yoonseok, Blackburn, Jeremy, Shoemaker, Daniel P., Mahmood, Fahad, Wang, Zhijun, Fiete, Gregory A., Wieder, Benjamin J., and Bradlyn, Barry. Spin-resolved topology and partial axion angles in three-dimensional insulators. United Kingdom: N. p., 2024. Web. doi:10.1038/s41467-024-44762-w.
Lin, Kuan-Sen, Palumbo, Giandomenico, Guo, Zhaopeng, Hwang, Yoonseok, Blackburn, Jeremy, Shoemaker, Daniel P., Mahmood, Fahad, Wang, Zhijun, Fiete, Gregory A., Wieder, Benjamin J., & Bradlyn, Barry. Spin-resolved topology and partial axion angles in three-dimensional insulators. United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-44762-w
Lin, Kuan-Sen, Palumbo, Giandomenico, Guo, Zhaopeng, Hwang, Yoonseok, Blackburn, Jeremy, Shoemaker, Daniel P., Mahmood, Fahad, Wang, Zhijun, Fiete, Gregory A., Wieder, Benjamin J., and Bradlyn, Barry. Tue . "Spin-resolved topology and partial axion angles in three-dimensional insulators". United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-44762-w.
@article{osti_2281407,
title = {Spin-resolved topology and partial axion angles in three-dimensional insulators},
author = {Lin, Kuan-Sen and Palumbo, Giandomenico and Guo, Zhaopeng and Hwang, Yoonseok and Blackburn, Jeremy and Shoemaker, Daniel P. and Mahmood, Fahad and Wang, Zhijun and Fiete, Gregory A. and Wieder, Benjamin J. and Bradlyn, Barry},
abstractNote = {Abstract Symmetry-protected topological crystalline insulators (TCIs) have primarily been characterized by their gapless boundary states. However, in time-reversal- ( $${{{{{{{\mathcal{T}}}}}}}}$$ T -) invariant (helical) 3D TCIs—termed higher-order TCIs (HOTIs)—the boundary signatures can manifest as a sample-dependent network of 1D hinge states. We here introduce nested spin-resolved Wilson loops and layer constructions as tools to characterize the intrinsic bulk topological properties of spinful 3D insulators. We discover that helical HOTIs realize one of three spin-resolved phases with distinct responses that are quantitatively robust to large deformations of the bulk spin-orbital texture: 3D quantum spin Hall insulators (QSHIs), “spin-Weyl” semimetals, and $${{{{{{{\mathcal{T}}}}}}}}$$ T -doubled axion insulator (T-DAXI) states with nontrivial partial axion angles indicative of a 3D spin-magnetoelectric bulk response and half-quantized 2D TI surface states originating from a partial parity anomaly. Using ab-initio calculations, we demonstrate that β -MoTe 2 realizes a spin-Weyl state and that α -BiBr hosts both 3D QSHI and T-DAXI regimes.},
doi = {10.1038/s41467-024-44762-w},
journal = {Nature Communications},
number = 1,
volume = 15,
place = {United Kingdom},
year = {Tue Jan 16 00:00:00 EST 2024},
month = {Tue Jan 16 00:00:00 EST 2024}
}

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