Contributor info: Dr Ion Cosma Fulga

Jorge I. Facio, Elisabetta Nocerino, Ion Cosma Fulga, Rafal Wawrzynczak, Joanna Brown, Genda Gu, Qiang Li, Martin Mansson, Yasmine Sassa, Oleh Ivashko, Martin v. Zimmermann, Felix Mende, Johannes Gooth, Stanislaw Galeski, Jeroen van den Brink, Tobias Meng

SciPost Phys. 14, 066 (2023) · published 11 April 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

Real-world topological semimetals typically exhibit Dirac and Weyl nodes that coexist with trivial Fermi pockets. This tends to mask the physics of the relativistic quasiparticles. Using the example of ZrTe$_5$, we show that strain provides a powerful tool for in-situ tuning of the band structure such that all trivial pockets are pushed far away from the Fermi energy, but only for a certain range of Van der Waals gaps. Our results naturally reconcile contradicting reports on the presence or absence of additional pockets in ZrTe$_5$, and provide a clear map of where to find a pure three-dimensional Dirac semimetallic phase in the structural parameter space of the material.

Max Geier, Ion Cosma Fulga, Alexander Lau

SciPost Phys. 10, 092 (2021) · published 26 April 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

We study a link between the ground-state topology and the topology of the lattice via the presence of anomalous states at disclinations -- topological lattice defects that violate a rotation symmetry only locally. We first show the existence of anomalous disclination states, such as Majorana zero-modes or helical electronic states, in second-order topological phases by means of Volterra processes. Using the framework of topological crystals to construct $d$-dimensional crystalline topological phases with rotation and translation symmetry, we then identify all contributions to $(d-2)$-dimensional anomalous disclination states from weak and first-order topological phases. We perform this procedure for all Cartan symmetry classes of topological insulators and superconductors in two and three dimensions and determine whether the correspondence between bulk topology, boundary signatures, and disclination anomaly is unique.

Selma Franca, Fabian Hassler, Ion Cosma Fulga

SciPost Phys. Core 4, 007 (2021) · published 15 April 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

We show that scattering from the boundary of static, higher-order topological insulators (HOTIs) can be used to simulate the behavior of (time-periodic) Floquet topological insulators. We consider D-dimensional HOTIs with gapless corner states which are weakly probed by external waves in a scattering setup. We find that the unitary reflection matrix describing back-scattering from the boundary of the HOTI is topologically equivalent to a (D-1)-dimensional nontrivial Floquet operator. To characterize the topology of the reflection matrix, we introduce the concept of `nested' scattering matrices. Our results provide a route to engineer topological Floquet systems in the lab without the need for external driving. As benefit, the topological system does not to suffer from decoherence and heating.

S. Thirupathaiah, Y. S. Kushnirenk, K. Koepernik, B. R. Piening, B. Buechner, S. Aswartham, J. van den Brink, S. V. Borisenko, I. C. Fulga

SciPost Phys. 10, 004 (2021) · published 11 January 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

We show that the cubic compound PtBi2, is a topological semimetal hosting a sixfold band touching point in close proximity to the Fermi level. Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we map the bandstructure of the system, which is in good agreement with results from density functional theory. Further, by employing a low energy effective Hamiltonian valid close to the crossing point, we study the effect of a magnetic field on the sixfold fermion. The latter splits into a total of twenty Weyl cones for a Zeeman field oriented in the diagonal, [111] direction. Our results mark cubic PtBi2, as an ideal candidate to study the transport properties of gapless topological systems beyond Dirac and Weyl semimetals.