Using nonlocal surface transport to identify the axion insulator

Abstract

The axion is a hypothetical but experimentally undetected particle. Recently, the antiferromagnetic topological insulator MnBi${}_2$Te${}_4$ has been predicted to host the axion insulator, but the experimental evidence remains elusive. Specifically, the axion insulator is believed to carry "half-quantized" chiral currents running antiparallel on its top and bottom surfaces. However, it is challenging to measure precisely the half-quantization. Here, we propose a nonlocal surface transport device, in which the axion insulator can be distinguished from normal insulators without a precise measurement of the half-quantization. More importantly, we show that the nonlocal surface transport, as a qualitative measurement, is robust in realistic situations when the gapless side surfaces and disorder come to play. Moreover, thick electrodes can be used in the device of MnBi${}_2$Te${}_4$ thick films, enhancing the feasibility of the surface measurements. This proposal will be insightful for the search of the axion insulator and axion in topological matter.

arXiv comment7 pages, 5 figures

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Cited by in corpus (27)

• Colloquium: Quantum anomalous Hall effect
• Experimental signature of parity anomaly in semi-magnetic topological insulator
• Layer Hall effect induced by hidden Berry curvature in antiferromagnetic insulators
• Spectral signatures of the surface anomalous Hall effect in magnetic axion insulators
• Chern insulator in a hyperbolic lattice
• Routes to realize the axion-insulator phase in MnBi${}_2$Te${}_4$(Bi${}_2$Te${}_3$)${}_n$ family: a perspective
• Dissipationless Layertronics in Axion Insulator $\mathrm{MnB}{\mathrm{i}}_2\mathrm{T}{\mathrm{e}}_4$
• Critical Behavior and Universal Signature of an Axion Insulator State
• Higher-order Fabry-Pérot Interferometer from Topological Hinge States
• Light-induced half-quantized Hall effect and axion insulator
• Half-Quantized Helical Hinge Currents in Axion Insulators
• Electrically Controlled Anomalous Hall Effect and Orbital Magnetization in Topological Magnet MnBi2Te4
• Fabrication-induced even-odd discrepancy of magnetotransport in few-layer MnBi${}_2$Te${}_4$
• Giant nonlocal edge conduction in the axion insulator state of MnBi2Te4
• Quantum Hall effect originated from helical edge states in Cd${}_3$As${}_2$
• Axion Insulator State in Hundred-Nanometer-Thick Magnetic Topological Insulator Sandwich Heterostructures
• Quasicrystalline second-order topological semimetals
• Phase transitions in intrinsic magnetic topological insulator with high-frequency pumping
• Topological Magnetoelectric Response in Ferromagnetic Axion Insulators
• Magnetic topological transistor exploiting layer-selective transport
• Hybrid-order topology in unconventional magnets of Eu-based Zintl compounds with surface-dependent quantum geometry
• On the half-quantized Hall conductance of massive surface electrons in magnetic topological insulator films
• Helical Luttinger liquid on the edge of a 2-dimensional topological antiferromagnet
• Dissipative Edge Transport in Disordered Axion Insulator Films
• Anti-commutative dynamical magneto-electric response in certain solid state materials
• Magneto-optical Kerr and Faraday effects in bilayer antiferromagnetic insulators
• Direct visualization of edge state in even-layer MnBi2Te4 at zero magnetic field