Topology in Action: Unveiling the Secret World of Phonons

Saturday - May 18 2024, 07:06 UTC - 6 months ago

Scientists have discovered that topology, a branch of mathematics, can be used to classify phonons, which are crucial for several properties of materials. This discovery could lead to the development of new materials and also hold the key to achieving room-temperature superconductors. Several phonon databases have been analyzed, revealing that topological phonons exist in at least half of all materials. Mathematicians are also exploring the connection between topology and phonons.

An international group of researchers has uncovered a groundbreaking discovery that could potentially change our understanding of the vibrational world of solids. Phonons, which are collective vibrations of atoms in a crystal structure, play a crucial role in several properties of materials, including thermal and electrical conductivity, neutron scattering, and quantum states. In a study published in the journal Science, a team of scientists from Princeton University, Zhejiang University, DIPC, ENS-CNRS, Max Planck Institute, and the University of the Basque Country have revealed that topology, a branch of mathematics, can be used to classify phonons.

Topology has been widely used to classify electronic bands in materials, leading to the development of catalogues of electronic topological behaviors. This discovery has led researchers to question whether topology can also characterize phonons. By computing the phonon bands and wave functions of thousands of quantum materials, the researchers were able to identify the symmetries and local structures of the phonons. They then employed topology to classify the global behavior of the phonon bands, similar to the formalism used in Topological Quantum Chemistry (TQC), which has been previously developed by the team for electronic bands.

By analyzing several phonon databases, the team predicts the existence of topological phonons for all non-magnetic crystals, including two-dimensional ZrSb, and three-dimensional ZrIrTe and ZrSiTe. This discovery could have major implications in the field of materials science, potentially leading to the development of new materials with unique and desirable properties. Topological phonons could also be the key to understanding and achieving room-temperature superconductors, which have been elusive for decades.

This groundbreaking study has not only opened new doors for research on materials, but it has also attracted the attention of mathematicians, who are now exploring the connection between topology and phonons. With this new understanding of the vibrational world of solids, the possibilities for future innovations and discoveries are endless.