Topological chiral crystals with helicoid-arc quantum states
- Princeton Univ., NJ (United States). Laboratory for Topological Quantum Matter and Advanced Spectroscopy (B7)
- Peking Univ., Beijing (China). International Center for Quantum Materials
- Louisiana State Univ., Baton Rouge, LA (United States)
- Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids, Dresden (Germany)
- Academia Sinica, Taipei (Taiwan). Institute of Physics
- Princeton Univ., NJ (United States). Laboratory for Topological Quantum Matter and Advanced Spectroscopy (B7); Rigetti Quantum Computing, Berkeley, CA (United States)
- National Cheng Kung University, Tainan (Taiwan)
- Peking Univ., Beijing (China). International Center for Quantum Materials; Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter, Beijing (China); University of the Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing (China). CAS Center for Excellence in Topological Quantum Computation
- Princeton Univ., NJ (United States). Laboratory for Topological Quantum Matter and Advanced Spectroscopy (B7); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
The quantum behaviour of electrons in materials is the foundation of modern electronics and information technology, and quantum materials with topological electronic and optical properties are essential for realizing quantized electronic responses that can be used for next generation technology. Here we report the first observation of topological quantum properties of chiral crystals in the RhSi family. We find that this material class hosts a quantum phase of matter that exhibits nearly ideal topological surface properties originating from the crystals’ structural chirality. Electrons on the surface of these crystals show a highly unusual helicoid fermionic structure that spirals around two high-symmetry momenta, indicating electronic topological chirality. The existence of bulk multiply degenerate band fermions is guaranteed by the crystal symmetries; however, to determine the topological invariant or charge in these chiral crystals, it is essential to identify and study the helicoid topology of the arc states. The helicoid arcs that we observe on the surface characterize the topological charges of ±2, which arise from bulk higher-spin chiral fermions. These topological conductors exhibit giant Fermi arcs of maximum length (π), which are orders of magnitude larger than those found in known chiral Weyl fermion semimetals. Here, our results demonstrate an electronic topological state of matter on structurally chiral crystals featuring helicoid-arc quantum states. Such exotic multifold chiral fermion semimetal states could be used to detect a quantized photogalvanic optical response, the chiral magnetic effect and other optoelectronic phenomena predicted for this class of materials.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC); National Key Research and Development Program of China; Chinese Academy of Science; Academia Sinica, Taiwan; Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) in Taiwan; National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan; National Center for Theoretical Sciences (NCTS), Taiwan
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-05CH11231; FG02-05ER46200; XDPB08-1; 291472
- OSTI ID:
- 1632127
- Journal Information:
- Nature (London), Vol. 567, Issue 7749; ISSN 0028-0836
- Publisher:
- Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
Similar Records
Linear and nonlinear optical responses in the chiral multifold semimetal RhSi
Direct Measurement of Helicoid Surface States in RhSi Using Nonlinear Optics