Lattice distortion induced first- and second-order topological phase transition in a rectangular high- Tc superconducting monolayer

Abstract

We theoretically study the lattice distortion induced first and second order topological phase transition in rectangular FeSe$_{x}$Te$_{1-x}$ monolayer. When compressing the lattice constant in one direction, our first principles calculation shows that the FeSe$_x$Te$_{1-x}$ undergoes a band inversion at $\Gamma$ point in a wide dopping range, say $x\in(0.0,0.7)$, which ensures coexistence of the topological band state and the high-T$_{\rm c}$ superconductivity. This unidirectional pressure also leads to the C$_4$ symmetry breaking which is necessary for the monolayer FeSe$_x$Te$_{1-x}$ to support Majorana corner states in the either presence or absence of time-reversal symmetry. Particularly, we use $k\cdot p$ methods to fit the band structure from the first principles calculation and found that the edge states along the $(100)$ and $(010)$ directions have different Dirac energy due to C$_4$ symmetry breaking. This is essential to obtain Majorana corner states in D class without concerning the details of the superconducting pairing symmetries and Zeeman form, which can potentially bring advantages in the experimental implementation.