Higher-order topological insulators in antiperovskites

We predict that a family of antiperovskite materials realize a higher-order topological insulator phase, characterized by a previously introduced Z4 index. A tight-binding model and a k·p model are used to capture the physics of the bulk, surface, and hinge states of these materials. A phase diagram of the higher-order and weak topological invariants is obtained for the tight-binding model. The mirror Chern number is also discussed. In order to reveal the gapless hinge states in the presence of mirror Chern surface states, several ways of opening the surface gap are proposed and confirmed by calculation, including cleaving the crystal to reveal a low-symmetry surface, building a heterostructure, and applying strain. Upon opening the surface gap, we are able to study the hinge states by computing the momentum-space band structure and real-space distribution of midgap states.