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Spin-orbit driven topological phases in kagome materials
Phys. Rev. B 113, 155115 – Published 7 April, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/hckh-kxx5
Abstract
Kagome materials have garnered substantial attention owing to their diverse physical phenomena, yet canonical systems such as the -type family are often obscured by bulk metallic states, spurring an urgent quest for kagome platforms hosting ideal topological states. Recently, Zhou et al. [L. Zhou, F. Yang, S. Zhang, and T. Zhang, Adv. Mater. 36, 2309803 (2024)] proposed the kagome-type IAMX family (IA = alkali metal, M = rare earth metal, and X = carbon group element), which exhibits distinctive ideal topological states; however, their analysis is primarily restricted to the spinless approximation. In this work, we model relativistic effects in the IAMX family, demonstrating that tuning the spin-orbit coupling (SOC) strength drives topological phase transitions and induces novel topological states, resulting in a rich phase diagram. The configuration of topological surface states evolves continuously as the SOC strength is modulated, consistent with the evolution of the topological phase transition. This suggests a viable route toward designing multifunctional topological devices. First-principles calculations performed on three specific IAMX compounds confirm that SOC governs their topological phases, in complete accord with our model analysis.