Observation of topological switch between Weyl semimetal and third-order topological insulator phases
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2025
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| _version_ | 1866911124846280704 |
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| author | Han, Yu-Hong Li, Yi Mei, Feng Xiao, Liantuan Jia, Suotang |
| author_facet | Han, Yu-Hong Li, Yi Mei, Feng Xiao, Liantuan Jia, Suotang |
| contents | Weyl semimetals and higher-order topological insulators represent two fundamental yet distinct classes of topological matter. While both have been extensively studied in classical-wave systems, their coexistence and controllable transition within a single platform remain largely unexplored. Meanwhile, implementing three-dimensional spin-orbit couplings, which is crucial for realizing a broad class of higher-dimensional topological phases, continues to pose significant experimental challenges. Here, we experimentally realize three-dimensional spin-orbit couplings and demonstrate that tuning the dimerized spin-orbit coupling strength enables both the coexistence of and a controllable switch between Weyl semimetal and third-order topological insulator phases. By engineering a three-dimensional circuit metamaterial, we synthesize the required spin-orbit interactions and observe hallmark signatures of both phases: frequency spectroscopy reveals the Fermi arcs, while local density of states measurements identify the topological corner modes. Interestingly, the corner mode degeneracy doubles compared to that in the canonical Benalcazar-Bernevig-Hughes model, signaling an enriched topological structure. Our study establishes a fundamental connection between two paradigmatic topological phases and paves the way for further exploring spin-orbit-coupling induced exotic higher-dimensional topological phases. |
| format | Preprint |
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arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_19531 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Observation of topological switch between Weyl semimetal and third-order topological insulator phases Han, Yu-Hong Li, Yi Mei, Feng Xiao, Liantuan Jia, Suotang Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics Optics Weyl semimetals and higher-order topological insulators represent two fundamental yet distinct classes of topological matter. While both have been extensively studied in classical-wave systems, their coexistence and controllable transition within a single platform remain largely unexplored. Meanwhile, implementing three-dimensional spin-orbit couplings, which is crucial for realizing a broad class of higher-dimensional topological phases, continues to pose significant experimental challenges. Here, we experimentally realize three-dimensional spin-orbit couplings and demonstrate that tuning the dimerized spin-orbit coupling strength enables both the coexistence of and a controllable switch between Weyl semimetal and third-order topological insulator phases. By engineering a three-dimensional circuit metamaterial, we synthesize the required spin-orbit interactions and observe hallmark signatures of both phases: frequency spectroscopy reveals the Fermi arcs, while local density of states measurements identify the topological corner modes. Interestingly, the corner mode degeneracy doubles compared to that in the canonical Benalcazar-Bernevig-Hughes model, signaling an enriched topological structure. Our study establishes a fundamental connection between two paradigmatic topological phases and paves the way for further exploring spin-orbit-coupling induced exotic higher-dimensional topological phases. |
| title | Observation of topological switch between Weyl semimetal and third-order topological insulator phases |
| topic | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics Optics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.19531 |