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Intertwined Topological and Magnetic Orders in Atomically Thin Chern Insulator MnBi2Te4
- Publication Year :
- 2020
- Publisher :
- arXiv, 2020.
-
Abstract
- The interplay between band topology and magnetic order plays a key role in quantum states of matter. MnBi2Te4, a van der Waals magnet, has recently emerged as an exciting platform for exploring Chern insulator physics. Its layered antiferromagnetic order was predicted to enable even-odd layer-number dependent topological states, supported by promising edge transport measurements. Furthermore, it becomes a Chern insulator when all spins are aligned by an applied magnetic field. However, the evolution of the bulk electronic structure as the magnetic state is continuously tuned and its dependence on layer number remains unexplored. Here, employing multimodal probes, we establish one-to-one correspondence between bulk electronic structure, magnetic state, topological order, and layer thickness in atomically thin MnBi2Te4 devices. As the magnetic state is tuned through the canted magnetic phase, we observe a band crossing, i.e., the closing and reopening of the bulk bandgap, corresponding to the concurrent topological phase transition. Surprisingly, we find that the even- and odd-layer number devices exhibit a similar topological phase transition coupled to magnetic states, distinct from recent theoretical and experimental reports. Our findings shed new light on the interplay between band topology and magnetic order in this newly discovered topological magnet and validate the band crossing with concurrent measurements of topological invariant in a continuously tuned topological phase transition.
- Subjects :
- Physics
Condensed Matter - Materials Science
Condensed Matter - Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Spins
Band gap
Mechanical Engineering
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
FOS: Physical sciences
Bioengineering
02 engineering and technology
General Chemistry
Electronic structure
021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology
Condensed Matter Physics
Topology
Magnetic field
symbols.namesake
Magnet
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
symbols
Antiferromagnetism
Topological order
General Materials Science
van der Waals force
0210 nano-technology
Subjects
Details
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....a906feeb7c332744ab89df526598b4b2
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2011.00555