Charge instability of topological Fermi arcs in chiral crystal CoSi.

Topological boundary states emerged at the spatial boundary between topological non-trivial and trivial phases, are usually gapless, or commonly referred as metallic states. For example, the surface state of a topological insulator is a gapless Dirac state. These metallic topological boundary states are typically well described by non-interacting fermions. However, the behavior of topological boundary states with significant electron-electron interactions, which could turn the gapless boundary states into gapped ordered states, e.g., density wave states or superconducting states, is of great interest theoretically, but is still lacking evidence experimentally. Here, we report the observation of incommensurable charge density wave (CDW) formed on the topological boundary states driven by the electron-electron interactions on the (001) surface of CoSi. The wavevector of CDW varies as the temperature changes, which coincides with the evolution of topological surface Fermi arcs with temperature. The orientation of the CDW phase is determined by the chirality of the Fermi arcs, which indicates a direct association between CDW and Fermi arcs. Our finding will stimulate the search of more interactions-driven ordered states, such as superconductivity and magnetism, on the boundaries of topological materials.

Tunable topological Dirac surface states and van Hove singularities in kagome metal GdV6Sn6.

Transition-metal-based kagome materials at van Hove filling are a rich frontier for the investigation of novel topological electronic states and correlated phenomena. To date, in the idealized two-dimensional kagome lattice, topologically Dirac surface states (TDSSs) have not been unambiguously observed, and the manipulation of TDSSs and van Hove singularities (VHSs) remains largely unexplored. Here, we reveal TDSSs originating from a ℤ2 bulk topology and identify multiple VHSs near the Fermi level (EF) in magnetic kagome material GdV6Sn6. Using in situ surface potassium deposition, we successfully realize manipulation of the TDSSs and VHSs. The Dirac point of the TDSSs can be tuned from above to below EF, which reverses the chirality of the spin texture at the Fermi surface. These results establish GdV6Sn6 as a fascinating platform for studying the nontrivial topology, magnetism, and correlation effects native to kagome lattices. They also suggest potential application of spintronic devices based on kagome materials.

Discovery of [Formula: see text] rotation anomaly in topological crystalline insulator SrPb.

Topological crystalline insulators (TCIs) are insulating electronic states with nontrivial topology protected by crystalline symmetries. Recently, theory has proposed new classes of TCIs protected by rotation symmetries [Formula: see text], which have surface rotation anomaly evading the fermion doubling theorem, i.e., n instead of 2n Dirac cones on the surface preserving the rotation symmetry. Here, we report the first realization of the [Formula: see text] rotation anomaly in a binary compound SrPb. Our first-principles calculations reveal two massless Dirac fermions protected by the combination of time-reversal symmetry [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] on the (010) surface. Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we identify two Dirac surface states inside the bulk band gap of SrPb, confirming the [Formula: see text] rotation anomaly in the new classes of TCIs. The findings enrich the classification of topological phases, which pave the way for exploring exotic behavior of the new classes of TCIs.

Chiral fermion reversal in chiral crystals.

In materials chiral fermions such as Weyl fermions are characterized by nonzero chiral charges, which are singular points of Berry curvature in momentum space. Recently, new types of chiral fermions beyond Weyl fermions have been discovered in structurally chiral crystals CoSi, RhSi and PtAl. Here, we have synthesized RhSn single crystals, which have opposite structural chirality to the CoSi crystals we previously studied. Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we show that the bulk electronic structures of RhSn are consistent with the band calculations and observe evident surface Fermi arcs and helical surface bands, confirming the existence of chiral fermions in RhSn. It is noteworthy that the helical surface bands of the RhSn and CoSi crystals have opposite handedness, meaning that the chiral fermions are reversed in the crystals of opposite structural chirality. Our discovery establishes a direct connection between chiral fermions in momentum space and chiral lattices in real space.