Topological metal bands with double-triple-point fermions in optical lattices

TL;DR

This paper introduces double-triple-point (DTP) fermions in topological metal bands, providing models and analysis for their properties, and suggests realization using ultracold atoms in optical lattices.

Contribution

It proposes a new class of pseudospin-1 fermionic excitations called DTP fermions, with models and topological analysis, and discusses their experimental realization.

Findings

DTP fermions classified by topological charges ±4, ±2, 0.

Topological phase transitions at trivial DTPs with zero Berry phase.

Splitting of quadratic DTPs into linear triple points upon symmetry breaking.

Abstract

Novel fermionic quasiparticles with integer pseudospins in some energy bands, such as pseudospin-1 triple-point fermions, recently attract increasing interest since they are beyond the conventional spin-$1/2$ Dirac and Weyl counterparts. In this paper, we propose a class of pseudospin-1 fermioic excitations emerging in topological metal bands, dubbed double-triple-point (DTP) fermions. We first present a general three-band continuum model with $C_4$ symmetry in three dimensions, which has three types of threefold degenerate points in the bands classified by their topological charges $C=\pm4,\pm2,0$, respectively. They are dubbed DTPs as spin-1 generalization of double-Weyl points. We then construct two-dimensional and three-dimensional tight-binding lattice models of topological metal bands with exotic DTP fermions near the DTPs. In two dimensions, the band gaps close at a trivial DTP with zero Berry phase, which occurs at the transition between the normal and topological insulator phases. In three dimensions, the topological properties of three different DTP fermions in lattice systems are further investigated, and the effects of breaking $C_4$ symmetry are also studied, which generally leads to splitting each quadratic DTP into two linear triple points and gives topological phase diagrams. Using ultracold fermionic atoms in optical lattices, the proposed models can be realized and the topological properties of the DTP fermions can be detected.