Half-quantized anomalous Hall conductance in topological insulator/ferromagnet van der Waals heterostructures
Fuente:
arXiv
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2026
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1866910122831249408 |
|---|---|
| author | Sattar, Shahid Stepanov, Roman Tyner, Alexander Islam, M. F. MacDonald, A. H. Canali, C. M. |
| author_facet | Sattar, Shahid Stepanov, Roman Tyner, Alexander Islam, M. F. MacDonald, A. H. Canali, C. M. |
| contents | The half-quantized anomalous Hall conductance (AHC) in topological materials is a condensed matter physics realization of the parity anomaly of (2+1) quantum field theory and an important challenge for both theoretical and experimental research. A possible realization of this phenomenon may be achieved by interfacing a two-dimensional (2D) ferromagnetic (FM) layer with one surface of a thin slab of a topological insulator (TI), which breaks the otherwise conserved time-reversal symmetry, leading to a gap opening in the Dirac-like energy spectrum of the TI surface states. The resulting heterostructure can support chiral currents where only one spin channel contributes to transport, producing a half-quantized Hall conductance ($e^2/2h$). In this work, using first-principles methods together with tight-binding models, we investigate the magnetization-induced gap, the properties of the sidewalls states, and Hall conductance in three different FI/TI van der Waals heterostructures that are relevant for ongoing experiments. We also discuss the factors that can hinder the realization of exact half-quantization in a realistic system and their implication for the quantum anomalous Hall effect and the topological magnetoelectric effect. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_10746 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Half-quantized anomalous Hall conductance in topological insulator/ferromagnet van der Waals heterostructures Sattar, Shahid Stepanov, Roman Tyner, Alexander Islam, M. F. MacDonald, A. H. Canali, C. M. Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics The half-quantized anomalous Hall conductance (AHC) in topological materials is a condensed matter physics realization of the parity anomaly of (2+1) quantum field theory and an important challenge for both theoretical and experimental research. A possible realization of this phenomenon may be achieved by interfacing a two-dimensional (2D) ferromagnetic (FM) layer with one surface of a thin slab of a topological insulator (TI), which breaks the otherwise conserved time-reversal symmetry, leading to a gap opening in the Dirac-like energy spectrum of the TI surface states. The resulting heterostructure can support chiral currents where only one spin channel contributes to transport, producing a half-quantized Hall conductance ($e^2/2h$). In this work, using first-principles methods together with tight-binding models, we investigate the magnetization-induced gap, the properties of the sidewalls states, and Hall conductance in three different FI/TI van der Waals heterostructures that are relevant for ongoing experiments. We also discuss the factors that can hinder the realization of exact half-quantization in a realistic system and their implication for the quantum anomalous Hall effect and the topological magnetoelectric effect. |
| title | Half-quantized anomalous Hall conductance in topological insulator/ferromagnet van der Waals heterostructures |
| topic | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.10746 |