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15 years of topological insulators

Quantum anomalous layer Hall effect

Nature Reviews Physics volume 5, page 271 (2023)Cite this article

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The antiferromagnetic sample is formed of an even number of layers of MnBi2Te4. The internal spin structure of such a system preserves space-time symmetry. Unlike the other Hall effects, which are typically induced by a magnetic field (external or internal) to break time-reversal symmetry, the layer Hall effect is probed by an electric field that breaks space-time symmetry. Dai and co-workers calculate the local current within the sample, finding that the bulk can host disorder-induced localized states that lead to quantization of the layer Hall effect. They also investigate thicker, ferromagnetic samples with higher Chern numbers, which also show evidence of the quantum anomalous layer Hall effect.

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References

Original article

  • Dai, W.-B. et al. Quantum anomalous layer Hall effect in the topological magnet MnBi2Te4. Phys. Rev. B. 106, 245425 (2022)

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Related articles

  • Gao, A. et al. Layer Hall effect in a 2D topological axion antiferromagnet. Nature 595, 521–525 (2021)

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  • Hsieh, D. et al. A topological Dirac insulator in a quantum spin Hall phase. Nature 452, 970–974 (2008)

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  1. Nature Reviews Physics https://www.nature.com/natrevphys/

    Ankita Anirban

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  1. Ankita Anirban
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Correspondence to Ankita Anirban.

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Anirban, A. Quantum anomalous layer Hall effect. Nat Rev Phys 5, 271 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42254-023-00585-0

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