Distinct quantum anomalous Hall ground states induced by magnetic disorders

Abstract

The quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect in magnetic topological insulator (TI) represents a new state of matter originated from the interplay between topology and magnetism. The defining characteristics of the QAH ground state are the quantized Hall resistivity (${\rho }_{yx}$) and vanishing longitudinal resistivity (${\rho }_{xx}$) in the absence of external magnetic field. A fundamental question concerning the QAH effect is whether it is merely a zero-magnetic-field quantum Hall (QH) effect, or if it can host unique quantum phases and phase transitions that are unavailable elsewhere. The most dramatic departure of the QAH systems from other QH systems lies in the strong magnetic disorders that induce spatially random magnetization. Because disorder and magnetism play pivotal roles in the phase diagram of two-dimensional electron systems, the high degree of magnetic disorders in QAH systems may create novel phases and quantum critical phenomena. In this work, we perform systematic transport studies of a series of magnetic TIs with varied strength of magnetic disorders. We find that the ground state of QAH effect can be categorized into two distinct classes: the QAH insulator and anomalous Hall (AH) insulator phases, as the zero-magnetic-field counterparts of the QH liquid and Hall insulator in the QH systems. In the low disorder limit of the QAH insulator regime, we observe a universal quantized longitudinal resistance ${\rho }_{xx}=h/e^2$ at the coercive field. In the AH insulator regime, we find that a magnetic field can drive it to the QAH insulator phase through a quantum critical point with distinct scaling behaviors from that in the QH phase transition. We propose that the transmission between chiral edge states at domain boundaries, tunable by disorder and magnetic fields, is the key for determining the QAH ground state.

arXiv comment17 pages, 5 figures

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• Colloquium: Quantum anomalous Hall effect
• Quantized anomalous Hall resistivity achieved in molecular beam epitaxy-grown MnBi2Te4 thin films
• Progress and prospects in the quantum anomalous Hall effect
• Experimental evidence on the dissipationless transport of chiral edge state of the high-field Chern insulator in MnBi2Te4 nanodevices
• Systemic Consequences of Disorder in Magnetically Self-Organized Topological MnBi${}_2$Te${}_4/$(Bi${}_2$Te${}_3$)${}_n$ Superlattices
• Correlation between magnetic domain structures and quantum anomalous Hall effect in epitaxial MnBi2Te4 thin films
• Gate-tunable Intrinsic Anomalous Hall Effect in Epitaxial MnBi2Te4 Films
• Engineering Plateau Phase Transition in Quantum Anomalous Hall Multilayers
• Born approximation study of the strong disorder in magnetized surface states of topological insulator
• Topological spin textures in electronic non-Hermitian systems
• Interlayer Exchange Coupling-Induced Critical-Metal-to-Insulator Phase Transition in Quantum Anomalous Hall Insulators
• Floquet spin textures in optically pumped non-Hermitian surface states