We show theoretically that a heterostructure of monolayer FeTe1−xSex -a superconducting quantum spin Hall material -with a monolayer of FeTe -a bicollinear antiferromagnet -realizes a higher order topological superconductor phase characterized by emergent Majorana zero modes pinned to the sample corners. We provide a minimal effective model for this system, analyze the origin of higher order topology, and fully characterize the topological phase diagram. Despite the conventional s-wave pairing, we find rather surprising emergence of a novel topological nodal superconductor in the phase diagram. Featured by edge-dependent Majorana flat bands, the topological nodal phase is protected by an antiferromagnetic chiral symmetry. We also discuss the experimental feasibility, the estimation of realistic model parameters, and the robustness of the Majorana corner modes against magnetic disorder. Our work provides a new experimentally feasible high-temperature platform for both higher order topology and non-Abelian Majorana physics. arXiv:1905.10647v2 [cond-mat.supr-con]
We propose MnBi2nTe3n+1 as a magnetically tunable platform for realizing various symmetryprotected higher-order topology. Its canted antiferromagnetic phase can host exotic topological surface states with a Möbius twist that are protected by nonsymmorphic symmetry. Moreover, opposite surfaces hosting Möbius fermions are connected by one-dimensional chiral hinge modes, which offers the first material candidate of a higher-order topological Möbius insulator. We uncover a general mechanism to feasibly induce this exotic physics by applying a small in-plane magnetic field to the antiferromagnetic topological insulating phase of MnBi2nTe3n+1, as well as other proposed axion insulators. For other magnetic configurations, two classes of inversion-protected higher-order topological phases are ubiquitous in this system, which both manifest gapped surfaces and gapless chiral hinge modes. We systematically discuss their classification, microscopic mechanisms, and experimental signatures. Remarkably, the magnetic-field-induced transition between distinct chiral hinge mode configurations provides an effective "topological magnetic switch".
We introduce higher-order topological Dirac superconductor (HOTDSC) as a new gapless topological phase of matter in three dimensions, which extends the notion of Dirac phase to a higher-order topological version. Topologically distinct from the traditional topological superconductors and known Dirac superconductors, a HOTDSC features helical Majorana hinge modes between adjacent surfaces, which are direct consequences of the symmetry-protected higher-order band topology manifesting in the system. Specifically, we show that rotational, spatial inversion, and time-reversal symmetries together protect the coexistence of bulk Dirac nodes and hinge Majorana modes in a seamless way. We define a set of topological indices that fully characterizes the HOTDSC. We further show that a practical way to realize the HOTDSC phase is to introduce unconventional odd-parity pairing to a three-dimensional Dirac semimetal while preserving the necessary symmetries. As a concrete demonstration of our idea, we construct a corresponding minimal lattice model for HOTDSC obeying the symmetry constraints. Our model exhibits the expected topological invariants in the bulk and the defining spectroscopic features on an open geometry, as we explicitly verify both analytically and numerically. Remarkably, the HOTDSC phase offers an example of a higher-order topological quantum critical point, which enables realizations of various higher-order topological phases under different symmetry-breaking patterns. In particular, by breaking the inversion symmetry of a HOTDSC, we arrive at a higher-order Weyl superconductor, which is yet another new gapless topological state that exhibits hybrid higher-order topology.
We propose a general theoretical framework for both constructing and diagnosing symmetryprotected higher-order topological superconductors using Kitaev building blocks, a higherdimensional generalization of Kitaev's one-dimensional Majorana model. For a given crystalline symmetry, the Kitaev building blocks serve as a complete basis to construct all possible Kitaev superconductors that satisfy the symmetry requirements. Based on this Kitaev construction, we identify a simple but powerful bulk Majorana counting rule that can unambiguously diagnose the existence of higher-order topology for all Kitaev superconductors. For a systematic construction, we propose two inequivalent stacking strategies using the Kitaev building blocks and provide minimal tight-binding models to explicitly demonstrate each stacking approach. Notably, some of our Kitaev superconductors host higher-order topology that cannot be captured by the existing symmetry indicators in the literature. Nevertheless, our Majorana counting rule does enable a correct diagnosis for these "beyond-indicator" models. We conjecture that all Wannierizable superconductors should yield a decomposition in terms of our Kitaev building blocks, up to adiabatic deformations. Based on this conjecture, we propose a universal diagnosis of higher-order topology that possibly works for all Wannierizable superconductors. We also present a realistic example of higher-order topological superconductors with fragile Wannier obstruction to verify our conjectured universal diagnosis. Our work paves the way for a complete topological theory for superconductors. CONTENTS
Various exotic topological phases of Floquet systems have been shown to arise from crystalline symmetries. Yet, a general theory for Floquet topology that is applicable to all crystalline symmetry groups is still in need. In this work, we propose such a theory for (effectively) non-interacting Floquet crystals. We first introduce quotient winding data to classify the dynamics of the Floquet crystals with equivalent symmetry data, and then construct dynamical symmetry indicators (DSIs) to sufficiently indicate the inherently dynamical Floquet crystals. The DSI and quotient winding data, as well as the symmetry data, are all computationally efficient since they only involve a small number of Bloch momenta. We demonstrate the high efficiency by computing all elementary DSI sets for all spinless and spinful plane groups using the mathematical theory of monoid, and find a large number of different nontrivial classifications, which contain both first-order and higher-order 2+1D anomalous Floquet topological phases. Using the framework, we further find a new 3+1D anomalous Floquet second-order topological insulator (AFSOTI) phase with anomalous chiral hinge modes.
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