Dirac Semimetal Phases in Chiral Carbon Nanoscrolls

Research output: Contribution to journal › Research article › Contributed › peer-review

Contributors

  • Hsu Tzu-Ching - , National Taiwan Normal University (Author)
  • You Jhih-Shih - , National Taiwan Normal University (Author)
  • Hsu Hsiu-Chuan - , National Chengchi University (Author)
  • Ion Cosma Fulga - , Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden, University of Würzburg, TUD Dresden University of Technology (Author)

Abstract

Chirality induced by rolling a two-dimensional material into a spiral geometry reshapes its electronic band structure. In this work we theoretically investigate the topological properties of carbon nanoscrolls under an axial magnetic field, focusing on structures in which chirality is encoded through shifted edge alignments. In contrast to unshifted structures, where mirror symmetry pins the Dirac cones to half a flux quantum, chiral carbon nanoscrolls lack this symmetry, and Dirac cones emerge at magnetic flux values away from half a flux quantum. We demonstrate that these Dirac cones are topologically protected by combined inversion–time-reversal symmetry and remain robust even when sublattice symmetry is broken. Furthermore, we show that the number of Dirac cones and their real-space probability distributions depend on the number of turns and the magnetic field strength. Our study elucidates the role of chirality in the band topology of nanoscroll geometries.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number175402
JournalPhysical Review B
Volume114
Issue number17
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2026
Peer-reviewedYes