Three-dimensional real Chern insulator in bulk <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mi>γ</mml:mi></mml:math>-graphyne
Xu-Tao Zeng, Bin-Bin Liu, Fan Yang, Zeying Zhang, Yanzhe Zhao, Xian‐Lei Sheng, Shengyuan A. Yang
Abstract
The real Chern insulator state, featuring a nontrivial real Chern number and second-order boundary modes, has been revealed in a few two-dimensional systems. The concept can be extended to three dimensions, but a proper material realization is still lacking. Here, based on first-principles calculations and theoretical analysis, we identify the recently synthesized bulk $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-graphyne as a three-dimensional real Chern insulator. Its nontrivial bulk topology leads to topological hinge modes spreading across the one-dimensional edge Brillouin zone. Under compression of the interlayer distance, the system can undergo a topological phase transition into a real nodal-line semimetal, which hosts three bulk nodal rings and topological boundary modes on both surfaces and hinges. We also develop a minimal model which captures the essential physics of the system.