Higher-order topological insulators from $3Q$ charge bond orders on hexagonal lattices: A hint to kagome metals

Abstract

We show that unconventional boundary phenomena occur in the $3Q$ charge bond orders on the hexagonal lattices. At the Van Hove singularity with three nesting momenta, $3Q$ orders can trigger a $\text{C}_6$-symmetric insulator under bond modulations. On the kagome lattice, in-gap corner states appear in the energy spectrum and carry fractional corner charge $-2e/3$. Such corner phenomena originate from the corner filling anomaly and indicate a higher-order topological insulator. The in-gap corner states are also observed on the triangular lattice. The honeycomb lattice does not support fractional corner charges, while in-gap edge states are observed. We discuss possible indications to the experimentally uncovered charge bond orders in the kagome metals $\text{AV}_3\text{Sb}_5$ with $\text{A}=\text{K},\text{Rb},\text{Cs}$. With layer stacking along the out-of-plane direction, the corner states can constitute the hinge states with fractional charge densities.