Unconventional Topological Fermions
Abstract
Since the discovery of topological insulators more than a decade ago, the classification of quantum materials has undergone a revolution, where quantum materials are now categorized by their topological properties and associated symmetries. This is epitomized by the prediction and subsequent experimental confirmation of topological insulators and Dirac-Weyl semimetals. Recently, the drive for research in advancing both our fundamental understanding of topological materials and developing their properties for applications have pointed towards a search in topological fermions beyond these systems and in regimes where electron correlations are not necessarily weak. In such a regime, the physics of unconventional topological fermions therefore subsumes a rich manifold of competing energy scales in the presence of symmetry and topology- electron correlations, magnetism, and spin orbit coupling. However, the discovery of relevant materials in this regime severely lags behind theory, a challenge that highlights an urgency to establish a solid material basis for further control of their material properties and functionalities with structure engineering, carrier density manipulation, and tunable correlations, and therefore respond to the DOD and AFOSR needs for energy, memory, logic and neuromorphic computing devices. For the proposed program, we will conduct a synthesis-based effort on material search from design principles rooted in controlling symmetries (chirality, symmorphicity, and time reversal) for material systems that are predicted to host two types of unconventional topological fermions- multifold degenerate fermions (MFDFs) and Kramers-Weyl fermions (KWFs), which hold promises for both fundamental physics (long surface Fermi arcs for dissipationless transport, chiral or gyrotropic magnetic effects, extremely large magnetoresistance etc.) and technological applications (in quantum sensing and spintronics).
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Mar 07, 2023
- Source ID
- FA95502110343
Entities
People
- Emilia Morosan
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Rice University
- United States Air Force