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arXiv · 2108.00008

Crystalline Responses for Rotation-Invariant Higher-Order Topological Insulators

Julian May-Mann·Taylor L. Hughes
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Abstract

Two-dimensional higher-order topological insulators can display a number of exotic phenomena such as half-integer charges localized at corners or disclination defects. In this paper, we analyze these phenomena, focusing on the paradigmatic example of the quadrupole insulator with $C_4$ rotation symmetry, and present a topological field theory description of the mixed geometry-charge responses. Our theory provides a unified description of the corner and disclination charges in terms of a physical geometry (which encodes disclinations), and an effective geometry (which encodes corners). We extend this analysis to interacting systems, and predict the response of fractional quadrupole insulators, which exhibit charge $e/2(2k+1)$ bound to corners and disclinations.

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Julian May-Mann, Taylor L. Hughes. 2021-07-30. Crystalline Responses for Rotation-Invariant Higher-Order Topological Insulators. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.106.l241113

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