Light-element and purely charge-based topological materials.

Area of Science:

• Condensed Matter Physics
• Materials Science
• Quantum Chemistry

Background:

• Topological insulators typically rely on spin-orbit coupling, often necessitating heavy elements.
• Understanding novel mechanisms for topological properties is crucial for materials discovery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To model topological insulators using interatomic, interorbital even-odd parity hybridization.
• To investigate topological edge states in s-p hybridized light elements without spin-orbit coupling.

Main Methods:

• Theoretical modeling of Hamiltonians with even-odd parity hybridization.
• Analysis of topological edge states in 1D and 2D lattices of s-p hybridized atoms.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated topological features analogous to the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model in 1D without dimerization.
• Identified alkaline earth chains, particularly Beryllium, as promising experimental candidates due to Fermi level alignment.
• Observed dispersive edge states in a 2D honeycomb lattice of s-p bonded atoms.

Conclusions:

• Even-odd parity hybridization offers a viable route to topological insulators using light elements.
• This approach bypasses the need for spin-orbit coupling, broadening the scope of accessible topological materials.