Professor Yugui Yao

Education

1995-1999 Ph. D., Institute of Mechanics, CAS, China.
1992-1995 M. S., Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, CAS, China.
1988-1992 B. S., Nankai University, China.

Professional Experience

2011-present. Professor, School of Physics, Beijing Institute of Technology, China
2009-2010. Visiting Scholar, Department of Physics, University of Texas at Austin, USA
2007-2011. Researcher Professor, Institute of Physics, CAS, Beijing, China
2004-2007. Associate Researcher Professor, Institute of Physics, CAS, China
2001-2004. Assistant Researcher, Institute of Physics, CAS, China
2001-2003. Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Physics, University of Texas at Austin, USA
1999-2001. Postdoctoral Researcher, State Key Laboratory for Surface Physics, Institute of Physics, CAS, China

Research Interests

Principal research areas include computational physics, condensed matter physics, and materials physics. More specifically, it includes the following several aspects：
(1) Development of the first-principles calculation method & quantum theory for materials
a) Evaluations of Z2 and Chern topological invariants
b) Investigation of correlation between electronic structures, Berry phase, and various quantum phenomena in systems with spin-orbit coupling. Studies of anomalous Hall effect, spin Hall effect, anomalous Nernst Hall effect, thermoelectricity, magneto-optic effect, transport, exciton, plasmon, etc.
c) Exploration of the emergent particles in condensed matters through group representation theory, and the development of related software packages for group representation theory.
(2) Design and application of quantum functional materials
a) 3D and 2D topological materials
b) Superconductors, especially topological superconductors
c) 2D novel layered materials, especially materials with strong spin-orbit coupling
d) Application of quantum materials for next-generation optical, electronic, and spintronic devices

Publications （updated to 12/24/2024）

Over 350 peer-reviewed papers, including Nature (4), Physical Review X/Letters (45), Physical Review A/B/E/Materials/Research (180), Nature Physics (2), Nature Materials (4), Nature Communications (18), PNAS (1), Nano Letters (10), Advanced Materials (4), ACS Nano (6), Chemical Society Reviews (1), Progress in Materials Science (1), Nature Reviews Physics (1), etc.
Citations > 33000 times, H-index = 84 (Google Scholar).
Full Publications and Citations: Web of Science or publons

Cited by	VIEW ALL
	All	Since 2019
Citations	33278	20181
h-index	84	74
i10-index	267	246

(The above data is sourced from Google Scholar.)

Selected Publications:

1. Cheng-Cheng Liu, Wanxiang Feng and Yugui Yao*, “Quantum spin Hall effect in silicene and two-dimensional germanium”, Phys. Rev. Lett., 107, 076802 (2011). Times Cited: 2067.
2. Yugui Yao, Fei Ye, Xiao-Liang Qi, Shou-Cheng Zhang and Zhong Fang, “Spin-orbit gap of graphene: First-principles calculations”, Phys. Rev. B (Rapid Comm.), 75, 041401(R) (2007). Times Cited: 820.
3. Yugui Yao, Leonard Kleinman, A. H. MacDonald, Jairo Sinova, T. Jungwirth, Ding-sheng Wang, Enge Wang and Qian Niu, “First principles calculation of anomalous Hall conductivity in ferromagnetic bcc Fe”, Phys. Rev. Lett., 92, 037204 (2004). Times Cited: 754.
4. Lan Chen, Cheng-Cheng Liu, Baojie Feng, Xiaoyue He, Peng Cheng, Zijing Ding, Sheng Meng, Yugui Yao* and Kehui Wu*, “Evidence for Dirac fermions in a honeycomb lattice based on silicon”, Phys. Rev. Lett., 109, 056804 (2012). Times Cited: 653.
5. Baojie Feng, Zijing Ding, Sheng Meng, Yugui Yao, Xiaoyue He, Peng Cheng, Lan Chen* and Kehui Wu*, “Evidence of silicene in honeycomb structures of silicon on Ag (111)”, Nano Lett., 12, 3507 (2012). Times Cited: 1139.
6. Cheng-Cheng Liu, Hua Jiang* and Yugui Yao*, “Low-energy effective Hamiltonian involving spin-orbit coupling in silicene and two-dimensional germanium and tin”, Phys. Rev. B, 84, 195430 (2011). Times Cited: 1088.
7. Zhenhua Qiao, Shengyuan A. Yang, Wanxiang Feng, Wang-Kong Tse, Jun Ding, Yugui Yao*, Jian Wang and Qian Niu, “Quantum anomalous Hall effect in graphene from Rashba and exchange effects”, Phys. Rev. B (Rapid Commun.), 82, 161414(R) (2010). Times Cited: 601.
8. Di Xiao, Yugui Yao, Wanxiang Feng, Jun Wen, Wenguang Zhu, Xing-Qiu Chen, G. Malcolm Stocks and Zhenyu Zhang, “Half-heusler compounds as a new class of three-dimensional topological insulators”, Phys. Rev. Lett., 105, 096404 (2010). Times Cited: 323.
9. Hui Pan, Zhenshan Li, Cheng-Cheng Liu, Guobao Zhu, Zhenhua Qiao* and Yugui Yao*, “Valley-polarized quantum anomalous-Hall effect in silicene”, Phys. Rev. Lett., 112, 106802 (2014). Times Cited: 328.
10. Wanxiang Feng, Di Xiao*, Jun Ding and Yugui Yao*, “Three-dimensional topological insulators in I-III-VI2 and II-IV-V2 chalcopyrite semiconductors”, Phys. Rev. Lett., 106, 016402 (2011). Times Cited: 140.
11. Zhi-Ming Yu, Yugui Yao* and Shengyuan A. Yang*, “Predicted unusual magnetoresponse in type-II Weyl semimetals”, Phys. Rev. Lett., 117, 077202 (2016). Times Cited: 225.
12. Changgan Zeng, Yugui Yao, Qian Niu and Hanno H. Weitering, “Linear magnetization dependence of the intrinsic anomalous Hall effect”, Phys. Rev. Lett., 96, 037204 (2006). Times Cited: 193.
13. Wanxiang Feng, Di Xiao, Ying Zhang and Yugui Yao*, “Half-heusler topological insulators: a first-principles study with the Tran-Blaha modified Becke-Johnson density functional”, Phys. Rev. B, 82, 235121 (2010). Times Cited: 172.
14. Di Xiao, Yugui Yao, Zhong Fang and Qian Niu, “Berry-phase effect in anomalous thermoelectric transport”, Phys. Rev. Lett., 97, 026603 (2006). Times Cited: 400.
15. Jun Ding, Zhenhua Qiao*, Wanxiang Feng, Yugui Yao* and Qian Niu, “Engineering quantum anomalous/valley Hall states in graphene via metal-atom adsorption: an ab-initio study”, Phys. Rev. B, 84, 195444 (2011). Times Cited: 217.
16. G. Y. Guo, Yugui Yao and Qian Niu, “Ab initio calculation of the intrinsic spin Hall effect in semiconductors”, Phys. Rev. Lett., 94, 226601 (2005). Times Cited: 141.
17. Yugui Yao and Zhong Fang, “Sign changes of intrinsic spin Hall effect in semiconductors and simple metals: first-principles calculations”, Phys. Rev. Lett., 95, 156601 (2005). Times Cited: 161.
18. Jian-Min Zhang, Wenguang Zhu*, Ying Zhang, Di Xiao and Yugui Yao*, “Tailoring magnetic doping in the topological insulator Bi2Se3”, Phys. Rev. Lett., 109, 266405 (2012). Times Cited: 143.
19. Wanxiang Feng, Yugui Yao*, Wenguang Zhu, Jin-jian Zhou, Wang Yao and Di Xiao*, “Intrinsic spin Hall effect in monolayers of group-VI dichalcogenides: A first-principles study”, Phys. Rev. B, 86, 165108 (2012). Times Cited: 224.
20. Wanxiang Feng, Jun Wen, Jin-jian Zhou, Di Xiao and Yugui Yao*, “First-principles calculation of topological invariants Z2 within the FP-LAPW formalism”, Comput. Phys. Commun., 183, 1849 (2012). Times Cited: 48.
21. Feng Liu, Cheng-Cheng Liu, Kehui Wu, Fan Yang* and Yugui Yao*, “d+id chiral superconductivity in bilayer silicene”, Phys. Rev. Lett., 111, 066804 (2013). Times Cited: 161.
22. Jin-Jian Zhou, Wanxiang Feng, Cheng-Cheng Liu, Shan Guan and Yugui Yao*, “Large-gap quantum spin Hall insulator in single layer bismuth monobromide Bi4Br4”, Nano Lett., 14, 4767 (2014). Times Cited: 157.
23. Zhigang Song, Cheng-Cheng Liu, Jinbo Yang*, Jingzhi Han, Meng Ye, Botao Fu, Yingchang Yang, Qian Niu, Jing Lu* and Yugui Yao*, “Quantum spin Hall insulators of BiX/SbX (X = H, F, Cl, and Br) monolayers with a record bulk band gap”, NPG Asia Mater., 6, e147 (2014). Times Cited: 242.
24. Cheng-Cheng Liu, Shan Guan, Zhigang Song, Shengyuan A. Yang, Jinbo Yang and Yugui Yao*, “Low-energy effective Hamiltonian for giant-gap quantum spin Hall insulators in honeycomb X-hydride/halide (X=N-Bi) monolayers”, Phys. Rev. B, 90, 085431 (2014). Times Cited: 125.
25. Junping Hu, Bo Xu*, Chuying Ouyang, Shengyuan A. Yang and Yugui Yao*, “Investigations on V2C and V2CX2 (X = F, OH) monolayer as a promising anode material for Li ion batteries from first-principles calculations”, J. Phys. Chem. C, 118, 24274 (2014). Times Cited: 311.
26. Cheng-Cheng Liu, Jin-Jian Zhou, Yugui Yao* and Fan Zhang*, “Weak topological insulators and composite Weyl semimetals: β-Bi4X4 (X=Br, I)”, Phys. Rev. Lett., 116, 066801 (2016). Times Cited: 79.
27. Jijun Zhao*, Hongsheng Liu, Zhiming Yu, Ruge Quhe, Si Zhou, Yangyang Wang, Cheng-Cheng Liu, Hongxia Zhong, Nannan Han, Jing Lu*, Yugui Yao* and Kehui Wu*, “Rise of silicene: A competitive 2D material”, Prog. Mater. Sci., 83, 24 (2016). (Review Article). Times Cited: 724.
28. Xiaoming Zhang, Junping Hu, Yingchun Cheng, HuiYing Yang*, Yugui Yao* and Shengyuan A. Yang*, “Borophene as an extremely high capacity electrode material for Li-ion and Na-ion batteries”, Nanoscale, 8, 15340, (2016). Times Cited: 431.
29. Yanfeng Ge, Fan Zhang* and Yugui Yao*, “First-principles demonstration of superconductivity at 280 K in hydrogen sulfide with low phosphorus substitution”, Phys. Rev. B, 93, 224513 (2016). Times Cited: 92.
30. Wenhui Wan, Yugui Yao*, Liangfeng Sun, Cheng-Cheng Liu and Fan Zhang*, “Topological, valleytronic, and optical properties of monolayer PbS”, Adv. Mater., 1604788 (2017). Times Cited: 27.
31. Shan Guan, Zhi-Ming Yu, Ying Liu, Gui-Bin Liu, Liang Dong, Yunhao Lu, Yugui Yao* and Shengyuan A. Yang*, “Artificial gravity field, astrophysical analogues, and topological phase transitions in strained topological semimetals”, NPJ Quantum Mater., 2, 23 (2017). Times Cited: 121.
32. Furu Zhang, Jianhui Zhou*, Di Xiao and Yugui Yao*, “Tunable intrinsic plasmons due to band inversion in topological materials”, Phys. Rev. Lett., 119, 266804 (2017). Times Cited: 20.
33. Baojie Feng, Botao Fu, Shusuke Kasamatsu, Suguru Ito, Peng Cheng, Cheng-Cheng Liu, Ya Feng, Shilong Wu, Sanjoy Mahatha, Polina Sheverdyaeva, Paolo Moras, Masashi Arita, Osamu Sugino, Tai-Chang Chiang, Kenya Shimada, Koji Miyamoto, Taichi Okuda, Kehui Wu, Lan Chen*, Yugui Yao* and Iwao Matsuda*, “Experimental realization of two-dimensional Dirac nodal line fermions in monolayer Cu2Si”, Nat. Commun., 8, 1007 (2017). Times Cited: 245.
34. Si Li, Zhi-Ming Yu, Ying Liu, Shan Guan, Shan-Shan Wang, Xiaoming Zhang, Yugui Yao* and Shengyuan A. Yang*, “Type-II nodal loops: theory and material realization”, Phys. Rev. B, 96, 081106 (2017). Times Cited: 178.
35. Douxing Pan, Chao Wang, Tzu-Chiang Wang* and Yugui Yao*, “Graphene foam: uniaxial tension behavior and fracture mode based on a mesoscopic model”, ACS Nano, 11, 8988 (2017). Times Cited: 39.
36. Wenhui Wan, Chang Liu, Wende Xiao and Yugui Yao*, “Promising ferroelectricity in 2D group IV tellurides: a first-principles study”, Appl. Phys. Lett., 111, 132904 (2017). Times Cited: 122.
37. Tingting Zhang, Zhiming Yu*, Wei Guo, Dongxia Shi, Guangyu Zhang* and Yugui Yao*, “From type-II triply degenerate nodal points and three-band nodal rings to type-II Dirac points in centrosymmetric zirconium oxide”, J. Phys. Chem. Lett., 2017, 8 (23), 5792-5797. Times Cited: 61.
38. Mengzhou Liao, Ze-Wen Wu, Luojun Du, Tingting Zhang, Zheng Wei, Jianqi Zhu, Hua Yu, Jian Tang, Lin Gu, Yanxia Xing, Rong Yang, Dongxia Shi, Yugui Yao* and Guangyu Zhang*, “Twist angle-dependent conductivities across MoS2/graphene heterojunctions”, Nat. Commun., 9, 4068 (2018). Times Cited: 102.
39. Si Li, Ying Liu, Shan-Shan Wang, Zhi-Ming Yu, Shan Guan, Xian-Lei Sheng, Yugui Yao* and Shengyuan A. Yang*, “Nonsymmorphic-symmetry-protected hourglass Dirac loop, nodal line, and Dirac point in bulk and monolayer X3SiTe6 (X= Ta, Nb)”, Phys. Rev. B, 97, 045131 (2018). Times Cited: 129.
40. Si Zhou, Cheng-Cheng Liu, Jijun Zhao* and Yugui Yao*, “Monolayer group-III monochalcogenides by oxygen functionalization: a promising class of two-dimensional topological insulators”, NPJ Quantum Mater., 3, 16 (2018). Times Cited: 72.
41. Zhi-Ming Yu, Ying Liu, Yugui Yao and Shengyuan A. Yang, “Unconventional pairing induced anomalous transverse shift in Andreev reflection”, Phys. Rev. Lett., 121, 176602 (2018). Times Cited: 12.
42. Xu Dong, Maoyuan Wang, Dayu Yan, Xianglin Peng, Ji Li, Wende Xiao*, Qinsheng Wang, Junfeng Han, Jie Ma, Youguo Shi and Yugui Yao*, “Observation of topological edge states at the step edges on the surface of type-II Weyl semimetal TaIrTe4”, ACS Nano, 2019, 13, 8, 9571-9577. Times Cited: 22.
43. Xiang Li, Dongyun Chen, Meiling Jin, Dashuai Ma, Yanfeng Ge, Jianping Sun, Wenhan Guo, Hao Sun, Junfeng Han, Wende Xiao, Junxi Duan, Qinsheng Wang, Cheng-Cheng Liu, Ruqiang Zou, Jinguang Cheng, Changqing Jin, Jianshi Zhou, John B. Goodenough, Jinlong Zhu, and Yugui Yao*, “Pressure-induced phase transitions and superconductivity in a quasi-1-dimensional topological crystalline insulator α-Bi4Br4”, PNAS, 2019, 1909276116. Times Cited: 43.
44. Baojie Feng*, Run-Wu Zhang, Ya Feng, Botao Fu, Shilong Wu, KojiMiyamoto, Shaolong He, Kenya Shimada, Taichi Okuda and Yugui Yao*, “Discovery of Weyl nodal lines in a single-layer ferromagnet”, Phys. Rev. Lett., 123, 116401 (2019). Times Cited: 69.
45. Qinsheng Wang, Jingchuan Zheng, Yuan He, Jin Cao, Xin Liu, Maoyuan Wang, Junchao Ma, Jiawei Lai, Hong Lu, Shuang Jia, Dayu Yan, Y.-G. Shi, Junxi Duan, Junfeng Han, Wende Xiao, Jian-Hao Chen, Kai Sun, Yugui Yao* and Dong Sun*, “Robust edge photocurrent response on layered type-II Weyl semimetal WTe2”, Nat. Commun., 10, 5736 (2019). Times Cited: 73.
46. Run-Wu Zhang, Zeying Zhang, Cheng-Cheng Liu*, Yugui Yao*, “Nodal line spin-gapless semimetals and high-quality candidate materials”, Phys. Rev. Lett., 124, 016402 (2020). Times Cited: 50.
47. Wanxiang Feng, Xiaodong Zhou, Jan-Philipp Hanke, Guang-Yu Guo, Stefan Blugel, Yuriy Mokrousov, and Yugui Yao*, “Topological magneto-optical effects and their quantization in noncoplanar antiferromagnets”, Nat. Commun., 11, 118 (2020). Times Cited: 66.
48. Zhi-Ming Yu, Zeying Zhang, Gui-Bin Liu, Weikang Wu, Xiao-Ping, Li, Run-Wu Zhang, Shengyuan A. Yang, and Yugui Yao*, “Encyclopedia of emergent particles in three-dimensional crystals”, Sci. Bull., 67, 4 (2022). ～1200 pages. Times Cited: 154.
49. Gui-Bin Liu, Zeying Zhang, Zhi-Ming Yu, Shengyuan A. Yang, and Yugui Yao*, “Systematic investigation of emergent particles in type-III magnetic space groups”, Phys. Rev. B, 105, 085117 (2022). ～1800 pages. Times Cited: 38.
50. Zeying Zhang, Gui-Bin Liu, Zhi-Ming Yu, Shengyuan A. Yang, and Yugui Yao*, “Encyclopedia of emergent particles in type-IV magnetic space groups”, Phys. Rev. B, 105, 104426 (2022). ～1500 pages. Times Cited: 38.
51. Zeying Zhang, Zhi-Ming Yu, Gui-Bin Liu*,and Yugui Yao*, “MagneticTB: A package for tight-binding model of magnetic and non-magnetic materials”, Comput. Phys. Commun., 270, 108153 (2022). Times Cited: 38.
52. Gui-Bin Liu*, Miao Chu, Zeying Zhang, Zhi-Ming Yu, and YuguiYao*, “SpaceGroupIrep: A package for irreducible representations of space group”, Comput. Phys. Commun., 270, 108153 (2022). Times Cited: 33.
53. Jiadong Zhou*, Wenjie Zhang, Yung-Chang Lin, Jin Cao, Yao Zhou, Wei Jiang, Huifang Du, Bijun Tang, Jia Shi, Bingyan Jiang, XunCao, Bo Lin, Qundong Fu, Chao Zhu, Guo Wei ,Yizhong Huang, Yuan Yao, Stuart S. P. Parkin, Jianhui Zhou, Yanfeng Gao, Yeliang Wang, Yanglong Hou, Yugui Yao*, Kazu Suenaga*, Xiaosong Wu*, and Zheng Liu*, “Heterodimensional superlattice with in-plane anomalous Hall effect”, Nature, 609, 46 (2022). Times Cited: 73.
54. Di Zhou*, D. Zeb Rocklin, Michael Leamy, and Yugui Yao*, “Topological invariant and anomalous edge modes of strongly nonlinear systems”, Nat. Commun., 13, 1 (2022). Times Cited: 21.
55. Yan-Wei Li*, Yugui Yao*, and Massimo Pica Ciamarra*,“Local plastic response and slow heterogeneous dynamics of supercooled liquids”, Phys. Rev. Lett. 128, 258001 (2022). Times Cited: 9.
56. Xiaodong Zhou, Run-Wu Zhang, Xiuxian Yang, Xiao-Ping Li, Wanxiang Feng*, Yuriy Mokrousov*, and Yugui Yao*, “Disorder- and topology-enhanced fully spin-polarized currents in nodal chain spin-gapless semimetals”, Phys. Rev. Lett. 129, 097201 (2022). Times Cited: 3.
57. Junxi Duan*, Yu Jian, Yang Gao*, Huimin Peng, Jinrui Zhong, Qi Feng, Jinhai Mao, Yugui Yao*, “Giant Second-Order Nonlinear Hall Effect in Twisted Bilayer Graphene”, Phys. Rev. Lett., 129, 186801 (2022). Times Cited: 46.
58. Jiadong Zhou#*, Chao Zhu, Yao Zhou, Jichen Dong, Peiling Li, Zhaowei Zhang, Zhen Wang, Yung-Chang Lin, Jia Shi, Runwu Zhang, Yanzhen Zheng, Huimei Yu, Bijun Tang, Fucai Liu , Lin Wang , Liwei Liu, Gui-Bin Liu, Weida Hu , Yanfeng Gao, Haitao Yang, Weibo Gao , Li Lu, Yeliang Wang*, Kazu Suenaga, Guangtong Liu, Feng Ding, Yugui Yao*, and Zheng Liu*, “Composition and phase engineering of metal chalcogenides and phosphorous chalcogenides”, Nat. Mater., 22, 450-458 (2023). Times Cited: 90.
59. Jin Cao, Wei Jiang, Xiao-Ping Li, Daifeng Tu, Jiadong Zhou, Jianhui Zhou*, and Yugui Yao*, “In-Plane Anomalous Hall Effect in PT-Symmetric Antiferromagnetic Materials”, Phys. Rev. Lett., 130, 166702 (2023). Times Cited: 17.
60. Yan-Wei Li*, Yugui Yao*, and Massimo Pica Ciamarra*, “Two-Dimensional Melting of Two- and Three-Component Mixtures”, Phys. Rev. Lett., 130, 258202 (2023). Times Cited: 4.
61. Mengxue Guan, Daqiang Chen, Qing Chen, Yugui Yao*, Sheng Meng*, “Coherent Phonon Assisted Ultrafast Order-Parameter Reversal and Hidden Metallic State in Ta2NiSe5”, Phys. Rev. Lett., 131, 256503 (2023). Times Cited: 4.
62. Run-Wu Zhang, Chaoxi Cui, Runze Li, Jingyi Duan, Lei Li, Zhi-Ming Yu*, Yugui Yao*, “Predictable gate-field control of spin in altermagnets with spin-layer coupling”, Phys. Rev. Lett., 133, 056401 (2024). Times Cited: 2.
63. Yilin Han, Chaoxi Cui, Xiao-Ping Li, Ting-Ting Zhang, Zeying Zhang, Zhi-Ming Yu*, Yugui Yao*, “Cornertronics in Two-Dimensional Second-Order Topological Insulators”, Phys. Rev. Lett., 133, 176602 (2024). Times Cited: 0.
64. Liu Yang, Lei Li*, Zhi-Ming Yu, Menghao Wu*, and Yugui Yao*, “Two-Dimensional Topological Ferroelectric Metal with Giant Shift Current”, Phys. Rev. Lett., 133, 186801 (2024). Times Cited: 2.
65. Xiaodong Zhou, Wanxiang Feng*, Run-Wu Zhang, Libor Smejkal, Jairo Sinova, Yuriy Mokrousov, and Yugui Yao*, “Crystal Thermal Transport in Altermagnetic RuO2”, Phys. Rev. Lett., 132, 056701 (2024). Times Cited: 28.
66. Md Shafayat Hossain*, Qi Zhang*, Zhiwei Wang, Nikhil Dhale, Wenhao Liu, Maksim Litskevich, Brian Casas, Nana Shumiya, Jia-Xin Yin, Tyler A. Cochran, Yongkai Li, Yu-Xiao Jiang, Yuqi Zhang, Guangming Cheng, Zi-Jia Cheng, Xian P. Yang, Nan Yao, Titus Neupert, Luis Balicas, Yugui Yao*, Bing Lv*, M. Zahid Hasan*, “Quantum transport response of topological hinge modes”, Nat. Phys., 20, 776-782 (2024). Times Cited: 7.
67. Qi Feng, Junxi Duan*, Ping Wang, Wei Jiang*, Huimin Peng, Jinrui Zhong, Jin Cao, Yuqing Hu, Qiuli Li, Qinsheng Wang, Jiadong Zhou*, Yugui Yao*, “Heterodimensional Kondo superlattices with strong anisotropy”, Nat. Commun., 15, 5491 (2024). Times Cited: 0.

Positions

Awards and Honors

 Outstanding Achievements in Science and Technology Award, CAS, China (group prize, 2011)
 National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, China (2012)
 Cheung Kong Professor, Ministry of Education, China (2012)
 Young and Middle-aged Science and Technology Innovation Leader, Ministry of Science and Technology, China (2014)
 National Ten Thousand Plan Leading Talents, China (2016)
 National Natural Science Award, China (2018)
 Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate Analytics (2018 - 2024)
 State Department special allowance experts, China (2020)
 American Physical Society Fellow, American (2022)
 Ministry of Education Natural Science Award, China (2022)
 Beijing Natural Science Award, China (2022)
 Beijing Excellent Graduate Supervisor, China (2023)
 Beijing Outstanding contributions to science, technology and management talents, China (2023)
 The Most Beautiful Science and Technology Workers in Beijing, China (2023)
 Beijing Advanced Science and Technology Workers, China (2023)

Professional Society and Editorial Board Membership

 The Chinese Computational Physical Society, Council Member (2012 - 2021)
 The Chinese Physical Society: Committee on Computational Condensed Matter Physics, Committee Member (2013 - Present)
 The Chinese Physical Society: Committee on the Popularization of Science, Committee Member, Deputy Director (2019 - Present).
 The Chinese Materials Society: Committee on Computational Materials, Deputy Secretary-General (2016 - Present)
 International Journal of Modern Physics B, Associate Managing Editor (2007 - 2024)
 Modern Physics Letters B, Associate Managing Editor (2007 - 2024)
 Scientific Reports, Editor (2015 - 2020)
 Europe Physical Journal B, Editor (2017 - 2020)
 SPIN, Editor (2019- Present)
 Physics (物理)，Editor (2020- Present)

Professional Contributions

Prof. Yao developed ab initio methods for calculating anomalous transverse transport coefficients and topological invariants, some of which have been incorporated into textbooks. He pioneered research on two-dimensional (2D) topological insulators, such as silicene, and proposed the widely cited theoretical model known as the LYFE model (where “Y” stands for Yao). Additionally, he compiled an encyclopedia of emergent particles in three-dimensional (3D) crystals, providing invaluable guidance for their exploration in condensed matter systems.

1. Study on Anomalous Transport

Prof. Yao made pioneering contributions to the study of anomalous transport phenomena of electrons, particularly the anomalous Hall effect (AHE). He developed a first-principles method for calculating anomalous Hall conductivity based on Berry curvatures, as presented in Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 037204 (2004), a paper that has been cited 754 times. This groundbreaking work elucidated the physical mechanism behind the AHE and provided a quantitative assessment of the crucial role played by the Berry phase. Prof. David Vanderbilt of Rutgers University recognized this work as a major breakthrough in applying the Berry phase concept to electronic structures of real materials, citing it in his 2006 Rahman Prize speech. In his 2012 review article [Rev. Mod. Phys. 84, 1419 (2012)], he highlighted it as “pioneering” for its novel first-principles calculation of Berry curvature, a critical advancement for understanding topological phenomena in condensed matter systems. The importance of this work was further underscored when Vanderbilt’s group later reproduced the approach using the Wannier interpolation method. In collaboration with experimental partners, Prof. Yao developed a method to separate the intrinsic and extrinsic contributions to the AHE and provided an explanation for the linear magnetization dependence of the intrinsic AHE in Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 037204 (2006), which has been cited 193 times. These findings were subsequently included in Michael P. Marder’s textbook Condensed Matter Physics (Chapter 17, page 504, Wiley Press, 2nd Ed, 2010). Prof. Yao further extended first-principles methods to investigate other transport phenomena, such as the anomalous thermoelectric coefficient [Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 026603 (2006), cited 400 times] and the spin Hall conductivity [Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 156601 (2005), cited 161 times; Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 226601 (2005), cited 141 times], where he uncovered a significant spin Hall effect in metals. In recent years, Prof. Yao has continued to advance the field. In 2022, his group reported a large in-plane anomalous Hall effect in an intrinsic heterodimensional superlattice, as detailed in Nature 609, 46 (2022) and Phys. Rev. Lett. 130, 166702 (2023). In 2024, Yao and collaborators introduced the “electric version” of the Hall effect—termed the electric Hall effect and quantum electric Hall effect [arXiv:2405.15410 (2024)].

2. Study on Topological Insulator

Prof. Yao and his collaborators made groundbreaking contributions to the field of topological insulators. They were the first to develop a computational code to determine the topological invariant Z2 of any system using first-principles methods [Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 016402 (2011), cited 140 times; Comput. Phys. Commun. 183, 1849 (2012)]. This methodology enabled them to predict a wide range of topological insulators, including those in Half-Heusler compounds [Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 096404 (2010), cited 323 times; Phys. Rev. B 82, 235121 (2010), cited 172 times] and chalcopyrites [Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 016402 (2011)，cited 140 times], several of which have been experimentally validated worldwide. Yao’s work on 2D large-gap topological insulators has been particularly influential. He proposed novel 2D topological insulators, including silicene and germanene [Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 076802 (2011), cited 2067 times], stanene [Phys. Rev. B 84, 195430 (2011), cited 1088 times], and BiX/SbX monolayers [NPG Asia Mater. 6, e147 (2014), cited 242 times; Phys. Rev. B 90, 085431 (2014), cited 125 times]. His study of pristine graphene revealed that its quantum spin Hall effect is unobservable due to its negligible gap, as determined by its negligible spin-orbit coupling strength [Phys. Rev. B 75, 041401(R) (2007), cited 820 times]. In 2022, Yao’s theoretical predictions culminated in the experimental observation of quantum spin Hall edge states at room temperature in single-crystal Bi4Br4 [Nat. Mater. 21, 1111-1115 (2022)]. This discovery was followed in 2024 by the detection of quantum transport phenomena linked to these topological edge states [Nat. Phys. 20, 776-782 (2024)], confirming Bi4Br4 as a high-performance topological system, as initially proposed by Yao et al. in Nano Lett. 14, 4767 (2014), cited 157 times. Furthermore, Yao group also proposed several novel quantum states, including valley-polarized quantum anomalous Hall states [Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 106802 (2014)] and high-temperature topological superconductivity in silicene [Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 066804 (2013)]. These theoretical predictions inspired both theoretical investigations and experimental efforts in the synthesis of silicene. His proposed effective Hamiltonian for silicene, known as the LYFE model (with “Y” standing for Yao), has been widely adopted for exploring various properties of graphene-like systems. Among his many notable achievements, Prof Yao was the first to theoretically predict the realization of quantum anomalous Hall effect in graphene by introducing Rashba spin-orbit coupling and exchange effects [Phys. Rev. B 82, 161414(R) (2010), cited 601 times]. He also predicted tunable intrinsic plasmons arising from band inversion in topological materials [Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 266804 (2017)]. These pioneering theoretical works have had a lasting impact on the field, with key papers such as Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 076802 (2011), Phys. Rev. B 84, 195430 (2011), and Phys. Rev. B 75, 041401(R) (2007) amassing 2067, 1088, and 820 citations, respectively.

3. Study on Emergent Particles

Prof. Yao and his collaborators accomplished a groundbreaking project by creating an encyclopedia of emergent particles in the 230 space groups with time-reversal symmetry. This comprehensive work establishes a detailed correspondence between emergent particles, symmetry conditions, effective models, and topological characteristics [Sci. Bull. 67(4), 345 (2022)]. This monumental work spans 1200 pages and has garnered significant attention, accumulating over 154 citations, and was honored with the 2023 Best Paper Award by Sci. Bull. Building on this foundation, Yao’s team conducted systematic investigations into emergent particles in magnetic systems. They explored 674 type-III magnetic space groups (MSGs) [Phys. Rev. B 105, 085117 (2022), 1800 pages], 517 type-IV MSGs [Phys. Rev. B 105, 104426 (2022), 1500 pages], as well as 528 magnetic layer groups and 394 magnetic rod groups [Phys. Rev. B 107, 075405 (2023), 1000 pages]. These studies led to the discovery of novel emergent particles, including topological charge-4 (C-4 Weyl) points and cubic crossing Dirac points, for the first time. This comprehensive framework provides a valuable toolbox for future research in condensed matter physics. In addition, Yao’s group established a domestic database of reducible (co-)representations and emergent particles across one-, two-, and three-dimensional point groups, space groups, magnetic space groups, and their subperiodic groups, with completely independent intellectual property rights. To further support the research community, Yao and his collaborators developed a suite of powerful software tools, including SpaceGroupIrep [Comput. Phys. Commun. 265, 107993 (2021)], MSGCorep [Comput. Phys. Commun. 288, 108722 (2023)], MagneticTB [Comput. Phys. Commun. 270, 108153 (2022)], MagneticKP [Comput. Phys. Commun. 290, 108784 (2023)], and PhononIrep [arXiv:2201.11350 (2022)].
Prof. Yao and his collaborators have accomplished a series of groundbreaking works in the prediction and exploration of emergent particles, particularly in topological semimetals. Notable recent achievements include the discovery of fourfold-degenerate Dirac nodal lines in 2D Cu2Si systems and twofold-degenerate Weyl nodal lines in GdAg2. These discoveries were accomplished through a combination of experimental measurements and theoretical calculations [Nat. Commun. 8, 1007 (2017), cited 245 times; Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 116401 (2019), cited 69 times]. Yao’s team has also proposed several novel classes of topological semimetals, including Type-II nodal loops [Phys. Rev. B 96, 081106(R) (2017), cited 178 times], Type-III Weyl semimetals [Phys. Rev. B 103, L081402 (2021)], and spin gapless semimetals [Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 016402 (2020); Nano Lett. 21, 8749 (2021)]. Additionally, they uncovered novel properties of topological states, such as unusual magnetoresponse in type-II Weyl semimetals [Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 077202 (2016), cited 225 times], quantized topological magneto-optical effects in noncoplanar antiferromagnets [Nat. Commun. 11, 118 (2020)], and crystal thermal transport in topological altermagnets RuO2 [Phys. Rev. Lett. 132, 056701 (2024), Editors’ Suggestion]. From a symmetry perspective, Yao’s team has proposed a range of novel effects and high-quality quantum materials, including the in-plane anomalous Hall effect in PT-symmetric antiferromagnetic materials [Phys. Rev. Lett. 130, 166702 (2023)], electric-field control of spin in altermagnets with spin-layer coupling [Phys. Rev. Lett. 133, 256401 (2024)], cornertronics in 2D second-order topological insulators [Phys. Rev. Lett. 133, 176602 (2024)].