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    Orbital-selective engineering of strain-tunable Chern insulators in momentum space

    Jin Gao*, Rongrong Chen*,†, Lei Yang*, ChengLong Jia‡, Li Xi, Desheng Xue, and Kun Tao§

    Zixiong Huang and Dingzhao Liu

    • Key Laboratory of Magnetism and Magnetic Functional Materials (Lanzhou University), Ministry of Education, Lanzhou, China

    • *These authors contributed equally to this work.
    • †Present address: Henan Institute of Technology, Zhengzhou, China.
    • ‡Contact author: cljia@lzu.edu.cn
    • §Contact author: taokun@lzu.edu.cn

    Phys. Rev. B 114, 214409 – Published 9 October, 2026

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/k6yc-nx4y

    Abstract

    Unlike conventional approaches where topological order is statically fixed, we demonstrate that biaxial strain can independently modulate topological order and functional responses in a Tc-adsorbed penta-hexa-silicene monolayer. Combining first-principles calculations and tight-binding models, we establish a continuous topological pathway C=+1→0→−1 driven purely by strain, with the intermediate C=0 state being a gapped insulator rather than a gapless critical point. This evolution is governed by momentum-space orbital-selective engineering, which selectively reconfigures wave functions to reshape the global Berry curvature distribution. Crucially, we reveal a fundamental dichotomy: topology originates from the global phase distribution of orbital hybridization, while piezoelectric functionality arises from its local strength. This enables the coexistence of nontrivial Chern insulating states with giant electromechanical responses (d11≈11 pm/V, three times that of MoS2), establishing a paradigm for transforming static functional materials into dynamically tunable quantum platforms.

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