Topological Defect and Flux States in Nature Communications

Our discovery of 0D topological defect and flux states in 3D materials, on which research began over 4 years ago, was pubished this week in Nature Communications.

Since their discovery over 5 years ago, materials classified as higher-order topological have been described in terms of their boundary states, which are sample dependent. It has remained an open challenge as to whether more general, experimentally measurable signatures exist of these readily accessible topological crystalline insulating (TCI) materials. By focusing on the charge and spin bound to topological defects and magnetic flux, we identified new variants of defect states and topological responses in readily accessible TCIs, such as SnTe. Our work suggests that many of even the most well-studied topological materials host unrecognized robust responses.

Oct. 6, 2022