Higher-order Weyl superconductors with anisotropic Weyl-point connectivity

W. B. Rui, Song-Bo Zhang, Moritz M. Hirschmann, Zhen Zheng, Andreas P. Schnyder, Björn Trauzettel, and Z. D. Wang
Phys. Rev. B 103, 184510 – Published 19 May 2021

Abstract

Weyl superconductors feature Weyl points at zero energy in the three-dimensional Brillouin zone and arc states that connect the projections of these Weyl points on the surface. We report that higher-order Weyl superconductors can be realized in odd-parity topological superconductors with time-reversal symmetry being broken by periodic driving. Different from conventional Weyl points, the higher-order Weyl points in the bulk separate 2D first- and second-order topological phases, while on the surface, their projections are connected not only by conventional surface Majorana arcs but also by hinge Majorana arcs. Strikingly, without the protection by a Chern number, the hinge Majorana arcs are anisotropic with respect to surface orientations, forcing a different connectivity of Weyl points for a rotated surface. We identify such anisotropic Weyl-point connectivity as a characteristic feature of higher-order Weyl materials. Moreover, with time-reversal symmetry being broken, the higher-order hinge Majorana arcs are spin polarized, which offers a promising opportunity to observe the anisotropic Weyl-point connectivity with spin-sensitive probes. Besides condensed-matter systems, we provide a feasible experimental setup for realizing our predictions in cold-atom systems.

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  • Received 21 September 2020
  • Revised 21 February 2021
  • Accepted 19 April 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.103.184510

©2021 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

W. B. Rui1,*, Song-Bo Zhang2,†, Moritz M. Hirschmann3, Zhen Zheng1, Andreas P. Schnyder3, Björn Trauzettel2, and Z. D. Wang1,‡

  • 1Department of Physics and HKU-UCAS Joint Institute for Theoretical and Computational Physics at Hong Kong, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China
  • 2Institute for Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics, University of Würzburg, D-97074 Würzburg, Germany
  • 3Max-Planck-Institute for Solid State Research, Heisenbergstrasse 1, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany

  • *wenbin.rui@gmail.com
  • songbo.zhang@physik.uni-wuerzburg.de
  • zwang@hku.hk

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Issue

Vol. 103, Iss. 18 — 1 May 2021

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