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  • Letter

Ferroelectrically controlled chirality switching of Weyl quasiparticles

Zeling Li1,2, Yu Liu1,2, Le Du1,2, Fengyu Li1,2, Zhifeng Liu1,3, Lei Li1, Lei Wang1,3,*, Botao Fu4,†, and Xiao-Ping Li1,2,‡

  • 1Research Center for Quantum Physics and Technologies, School of Physical Science and Technology, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, China
  • 2Key Laboratory of Semiconductor Photovoltaic Technology and Energy Materials at Universities of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, China
  • 3Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Microscale Physics and Atom Innovation, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, China
  • 4College of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Center for Computational Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610068, China

  • *Contact author: lwang@imu.edu.cn
  • †Contact author: fubotao2008@gmail.com
  • ‡Contact author: xpli@imu.edu.cn

Phys. Rev. B 112, L180305 – Published 14 November, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/mrls-4v3d

Abstract

Weyl quasiparticles, as gapless low-energy excitations with nontrivial chirality, have garnered extensive interest in recent years. However, archieving effective and reversible control over their chirality (topological charge) remains a major challenge due to topological protection. In this Letter, we propose a ferroelectric mechanism to switch the chirality of Weyl phonons, where the reversal of ferroelectric polarization is intrinsically coupled to a simultaneous reversal of the chirality of Weyl points. This enables electric-field-driven control over the topological properties of phonon excitations. Through a comprehensive symmetry analysis of polar space groups, we identify 27 groups capable of hosting symmetry-protected Weyl phonons with chiral charges C=1, 2, and 3, whose chirality can be reversed via polarization switching. The first-principles calculations are performed to screen feasible material candidates for each type of chirality, yielding a set of prototypical ferroelectric compounds that realize the proposed mechanism. As a representative example, K2ZnBr4 hosts the minimal configuration of two pairs of Weyl phonons. Upon polarization reversal, the chirality of all Weyl points is inverted, accompanied by a reversal of associated topological features such as Berry curvature and surface arcs. These findings provide a viable pathway for dynamic, electrical control of topological band crossings and open different avenues for chirality-based phononic applications.

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