English

Chern Dartboard Superconductors

Superconductivity 2025-12-09 v1

Abstract

We investigate the interplay of particle-hole symmetry and sub-Brillouin zone (sBZ) topology by coupling a so-called Chern dartboard insulator (CDI) to a superconductor (SC) via the proximity effect. We dub the hybrid system, and equivalent intrinsically superconducting phases, a \emph{Chern dartboard superconductor} (CDSC). We show that a CDSC can have nontrivial sBZ topology if it arises from a CDI that has an even number of mirror symmetries nn. On the other hand, particle-hole symmetry constrains a CDSC that arises from an odd-nn CDI to have trivial sBZ topology. However, we can circumvent this constraint for n=1n=1 by inducing an FFLO-type pairing or shifting the CDI in momentum space, converting the mirror symmetry to a momentum-space nonsymmorphic mirror symmetry. With a superconducting pairing that preserves the (nonsymmorphic) mirror symmetries, even-nn CDIs and the shifted n=1n=1 CDI can realize the minimal spinless phase that has a trivial total Chern number and nontrivial reduced Chern numbers. With a pairing that breaks the mirror symmetries, the hybrid system can realize phases that have nontrivial total and reduced Chern numbers, expanding the classification of phases that have sub-Brillouin zone (sBZ) topology. We also predict that some types of n=2n=2 CDSCs inherit the quantized crystalline response of the n=2n=2 CDI, providing experimentalists with a well-defined way to probe the CDSC. Our work motivates further exploration of sBZ topology, bulk topology, and quantized response.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2512.06073,
  title  = {Chern Dartboard Superconductors},
  author = {Rebecca Chan and Taylor L. Hughes},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2512.06073},
  year   = {2025}
}

Comments

19 pages, 15 figures, including supplementary information

R2 v1 2026-07-01T08:12:22.166Z