  Unconventional chiral particles have recently been predicted to appear in
certain three dimensional (3D) crystal structures containing three- or
more-fold linear band degeneracy points (BDPs). These BDPs carry topological
charges, but are distinct from the standard twofold Weyl points or fourfold
Dirac points, and cannot be described in terms of an emergent relativistic
field theory. Here, we report on the experimental observation of a topological
threefold BDP in a 3D phononic crystal. Using direct acoustic field mapping, we
demonstrate the existence of the threefold BDP in the bulk bandstructure, as
well as doubled Fermi arcs of surface states consistent with a topological
charge of 2. Another novel BDP, similar to a Dirac point but carrying nonzero
topological charge, is connected to the threefold BDP via the doubled Fermi
arcs. These findings pave the way to using these unconventional particles for
exploring new emergent physical phenomena.
