Periodic driving provides a powerful tool towards Floquet engineering topological states with high tunability. Here, we theoretically demonstrate a dynamic route to engineer a Floquet higher-order Weyl semimetallic phase under the irradiation of periodic light fields. Based on first-principles calculations and the Floquet theorem, we uncover that circularly polarized light can induce a topological phase transition from a higher-order nodal line semimetal into a higher-order Weyl semimetal in three-dimensional graphdiyne. This higher-order Weyl semimetallic phase possesses two pairs of higher-order Weyl points, whose positions are precisely tunable via the incident light intensity. The higher-order topology is confirmed by two-dimensional surface Fermi arc states and one-dimensional hinge states, connecting Weyl points with opposite chirality. Our findings not only establish a realistic platform for studying Floquet engineering topological states but also open an avenue for the experimental observation of exotic higher-order Weyl physics.

Close

PrevNext

View figure in article

• Photoinduced effect
• Topological phase transition
• Topological phases of matter
• Carbon-based materials
• Topological materials
• Bloch-Floquet theorem
• First-principles calculations
• Tight-binding model