Novel $\mathbb{Z}_2$-topological metals and semimetals

TL;DR

This paper introduces new theoretical insights into $$-topological metals and semimetals, revealing their Fermi surfaces' topological equivalence to points, and establishing a strong no-go theorem for their topological charges.

Contribution

It generalizes the no-go theorem to $$ topological systems and classifies six topological types in physical dimensions, advancing understanding of topological semimetals.

Findings

All $$ Fermi surfaces are topologically equivalent to Fermi points.

Total topological charge in periodic systems is zero, generalizing previous $$ Fermi point results.

All $$ Fermi points share the same topological charge, either 1 or 0.

Abstract

We report two theoretical discoveries for $\mathbb{Z}_2$-topological metals and semimetals. It is shown first that any dimensional $\mathbb{Z}_2$ Fermi surface is topologically equivalent to a Fermi point. Then the famous conventional no-go theorem, which was merely proven before for $\mathbb{Z}$ Fermi points in a periodic system without any discrete symmetry, is generalized to that the total topological charge is zero for all cases. Most remarkably, we find and prove an unconventional strong no-go theorem: all $\mathbb{Z}_2$ Fermi points have the same topological charge $\nu_{\mathbb{Z}_2} =1$ or $0$ for periodic systems. Moreover, we also establish all six topological types of $\mathbb{Z}_2$ models for realistic physical dimensions.