Emergent topological mirror insulator in t2g-orbital systems

Abstract

The electronic band structure of iron pnictides exhibits four Dirac cones, which are due to crystal symmetry and orbital bonding orientation. This hallmark signature presents the pnictide family as an ideal candidate in the search for quasi-two-dimensional topological crystalline insulators. In this report, we explore interaction-induced topological phases which cannot be described by conventional local order parameters. Based on a model Hamiltonian our symmetry analysis shows that sponta- neous novel topological phases may be realized in compounds with tetragonal crystal field symmetry, where the electrons occupy the two degenerate t2g energy levels at low temperature. We identify two stable topological phases in the ground state, which emerge from spontaneous orbital current order. These currents are driven by electronic correlations caused by inter-orbital Coulomb interactions. The first topological phase is an anomalous orbital Hall phase, characterized by a nonzero Chern number, while the second topological phase has a vanishing Chern number, though with an extra Z2-like invariant that preserves parity. More specifically, the interaction-induced novel phase of the quasi-two-dimensional topological crystalline insulator is protected by mirror reflection symmetries and therefore may be realized in pnictides.

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