Symmetry-protected topological crystalline insulators (TCIs) have primarily been characterized by their gapless boundary states. However, in time-reversal- ([Formula: see text]-) invariant (helical) 3D TCIs-termed higher-order TCIs (HOTIs)-the boundary signatures can manifest as a sample-dependent network of 1D hinge states. We here introduce nested spin-resolved Wilson loops and layer constructions as tools to characterize the intrinsic bulk topological properties of spinful 3D insulators.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo date, almost all of the discussions on topological insulators (TIs) have focused on two- and three-dimensional systems. One-dimensional (1D) TIs manifested in real materials, in which localized spin states may exist at the end or near the junctions, have largely been unexplored. Previous studies have considered the system of gapped graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) possessing spatial symmetries (e.
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