Higher-order topological phases and real topological phases are two emerging topics in topological states of matter, which have been attracting considerable research interest. However, it remains a challenge to find realistic materials that can realize these exotic phases. Here, based on first-principles calculations and theoretical analysis, we identify graphyne, the representative of the graphyne-family carbon allotropes, as a two-dimensional (2D) second-order topological insulator and a real Chern insulator. We show that graphyne has a direct bulk band gap at the three $M$ points, forming three valleys. The bulk bands feature a double band inversion, which is characterized by the nontrivial real Chern number enabled by the spacetime-inversion symmetry. The real Chern number is explicitly evaluated by both the Wilson-loop method and the parity approach, and we show that it dictates the existence of Dirac type edge bands and the topological corner states. Furthermore, we find that the topological phase transition in graphyne from the second-order topological insulator to a trivial insulator is mediated by a 2D Weyl semimetal phase. The robustness of the corner states against symmetry breaking and possible experimental detection methods are discussed.
Graphynes represent an emerging family of carbon allotropes that recently attracted much interest due to the tunability of the Dirac cones in the band structure. Here, we show that the spin-orbit couplings in $β$-graphyne could produce various effects related to the topological properties of its electronic bands. Intrinsic spin-orbit coupling yields high- and tunable Chern-number bands, which may host both topological and Chern insulators, in the presence and absence of time-reversal symmetry, respectively. Furthermore, Rashba spin-orbit coupling can be used to control the position and the num…
The real Chern insulator state, featuring nontrivial real Chern number and second-order boundary modes, has been revealed in a few two-dimensional systems. The concept can be extended to three dimensions (3D), but a proper material realization is still lacking. Here, based on first-principles calculations and theoretical analysis, we identify the recently synthesized bulk $γ$-graphyne as a 3D real Chern insulator. Its nontrivial bulk topology leads to topological hinge modes spreading across the 1D edge Brillouin zone. Under compression of the interlayer distance, the system can undergo a topo…
Higher-order topological insulators have attracted great research interest recently. Different from conventional topological insulators, higher-order topological insulators do not necessarily require spin-orbit coupling, which makes it possible to realize them in spinless systems. Here, we study phonons in 2D graphyne family materials. By using first-principle calculations and topology/symmetry analysis, we find that phonons in both graphdiyne and $γ$-graphyne exhibit a second-order topology, which belongs to the specific case known as real Chern insulator. We identify the nontrivial phononic …
Path-integral Monte Carlo calculations were performed to study the adsorption of $^4$He atoms on $α$-graphyne. We find that one $^4$He atom can be embedded onto the in-plane center of each hexagon of the graphyne. In the first $^4$He layer above the $^4$He-embedded graphyne surface, a Mott insulating state was observed at the areal density of 0.0706 Å$^{-2}$ with three $^4$He atoms occupying each hexagonal cell while the helium atoms form a commensurate triangular solid at a density of 0.0941 Å$^{-2}$. Here we show that the Ising pseudo-spin symmetry introduced for two degenerate configuration…
The study of higher-order and real topological states as well as the material realization have become a research forefront of topological condensed matter physics in recent years. Twisted bilayer graphene (tbG) is proved to have higher-order and real topology. However whether this conclusion can be extended to other two-dimensional twisted bilayer carbon materials and the mechanism behind it lack explorations. In this paper, we identify the twisted bilayer $α$-graphyne (tbGPY) at large twisting angle as a real Chern insulator (also known as Stiefel-Whitney insulator) and a second-order topolog…
The interplay between band topology and magnetism can give rise to exotic states of matter. For example, magnetically doped topological insulators can realize a Chern insulator that exhibits quantized Hall resistance at zero magnetic field. While prior works have focused on ferromagnetic systems, little is known about band topology and its manipulation in antiferromagnets. Here, we report that MnBi$_2$Te$_4$ is a rare platform for realizing a canted-antiferromagnetic (cAFM) Chern insulator with electrical control. We show that the Chern insulator state with Chern number $C = 1$ appears as soon…
Chirally stacked $N$-layer graphene is a semimetal with $\pm p^N$ band-touching at two nonequivalent corners in its Brillioun zone. We predict that an off-resonant circularly polarized light (CPL) drives chirally stacked $N$-layer graphene into a Floquet Chern Insulators (FCIs), a.k.a. quantum anomalous Hall insulators, with tunable high Chern number $C_F=\pm N$ and large gaps. A topological phase transition between such a FCI and a valley Hall (VH) insulator with high valley Chern number $C_v=\pm N$ induced by a voltage gate can be engineered by the parameters of the CPL and voltage gate. We …
We extend the Berry-phase concept of polarization to insulators having a non-zero value of the Chern invariant. The generalization to such Chern insulators requires special care because of the partial occupation of chiral edge states. We show how the integrated bulk current arising from an adiabatic evolution can be related to a difference of bulk polarizations. We also show how the surface charge can be related to the bulk polarization, but only with a knowledge of the wavevector at which the occupancy of the edge state is discontinuous. Furthermore we present numerical calculations on a mode…
The quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) state is a two-dimensional topological insulating state that has quantized Hall resistance of h/Ce2 and vanishing longitudinal resistance under zero magnetic field, where C is called the Chern number. The QAH effect has been realized in magnetic topological insulators (TIs) and magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene. Despite considerable experimental efforts, the zero magnetic field QAH effect has so far been realized only for C = 1. Here we used molecular beam epitaxy to fabricate magnetic TI multilayers and realized the QAH effect with tunable Chern number C up…
The intrinsic antiferromagnetic topological insulator MnBi2Te4 provides an ideal platform for exploring exotic topological quantum phenomena. Recently, the Chern insulator and axion insulator phases have been realized in few-layer MnBi2Te4 devices at low magnetic field regime. However, the fate of MnBi2Te4 in high magnetic field has never been explored in experiment. In this work, we report transport studies of exfoliated MnBi2Te4 flakes in pulsed magnetic fields up to 61.5 T. In the high-field limit, the Chern insulator phase with Chern number C = -1 evolves into a robust zero Hall resistance…
We derive a multi-band formulation of the orbital magnetization in a normal periodic insulator (i.e., one in which the Chern invariant, or in 2d the Chern number, vanishes). Following the approach used recently to develop the single-band formalism [T. Thonhauser, D. Ceresoli, D. Vanderbilt, and R. Resta, Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 95}, 137205 (2005)], we work in the Wannier representation and find that the magnetization is comprised of two contributions, an obvious one associated with the internal circulation of bulk-like Wannier functions in the interior and an unexpected one arising from net curr…
Topological insulators are a novel state of matter that share a common feature: their spectral bands are associated with a nonlocal integer-valued index, commonly manifesting through quantized bulk phenomena and robust boundary effects. In this work, we demonstrate using dimensional reduction that high-order topological insulators are descendants from a chiral semimetal in higher dimensions. Specifically, we analyze the descendants of an ancestor four-dimensional Chern insulator in the limit where it becomes chiral and show their relation to two-dimensional second-order topological insulators.…
We study a generic model of a Chern insulator supplemented by a Hubbard interaction in arbitrary even dimension $D$ and demonstrate that the model remains well-defined and nontrivial in the $D \to \infty$ limit. Dynamical mean-field theory is applicable and predicts a phase diagram with a continuum of topologically different phases separating a correlated Mott insulator from the trivial band insulator. We discuss various features, such as the elusive distinction between insulating and semi-metal states, which are unconventional already in the non-interacting case. Topological phases are charac…
We predict twisted double bilayer graphene to be a versatile platform for the realization of fractional Chern insulators readily targeted by tuning the gate potential and the twist angle. Remarkably, these topologically ordered states of matter, including spin singlet Halperin states and spin polarized states in Chern number $\mathcal C=1$ and $\mathcal{C}= 2$ bands, occur at high temperatures and without the need for an external magnetic field.
Studies on two-dimensional electron systems in a strong magnetic field first revealed the quantum Hall (QH) effect, a topological state of matter featuring a finite Chern number (C) and chiral edge states. Haldane later theorized that Chern insulators with integer QH effects could appear in lattice models with complex hopping parameters even at zero magnetic field. The ABC-trilayer graphene/hexagonal boron nitride (TLG/hBN) moiré superlattice provides an attractive platform to explore Chern insulators because it features nearly flat moiré minibands with a valley-dependent electrically tunable …
Based on DFT and Berry curvature calculations, we predict that quantum anomalous hall effect (QAHE) can be realized in two dimensional anti-ferromagnetic (AFM) NiRuCl6 with zero net magnetic moment. By tuning spin-orbits coupling (SOC), we find that the topological properties of NiRuCl6 come from its energy band reversal. The results indicate that NiRuCl6 behaves as AFM Chern insulator and its spin-polarized electronic structure and strong spin-orbits coupling (SOC) are the origin of QAHE. Considering the compatibility between AFM and insulator, AFM Chern insulator is more suitable to realize …
We investigate a new class of topological antiferromagnetic (AF) Chern insulators driven by electronic interactions in two-dimensional systems without inversion symmetry. Despite the absence of a net magnetization, AF Chern insulators (AFCI) possess a nonzero Chern number $C$ and exhibit the quantum anomalous Hall effect (QAHE). Their existence is guaranteed by the bifurcation of the boundary line of Weyl points between a quantum spin Hall insulator and a topologically trivial phase with the emergence of AF long-range order. As a concrete example, we study the phase structure of the honeycomb …
We propose searching for Chern insulators by depositing atomic layers of elements with large spin-orbit coupling (e.g., Bi) on the surface of a magnetic insulator. We argue that such systems will typically have isolated surface bands with non-zero Chern numbers. If these overlap in energy, a metallic surface with large anomalous Hall conductivity (AHC) will result; if not, a Chern-insulator state will typically occur. Thus, our search strategy reduces to looking for examples having the Fermi level in a global gap extending across the entire Brillouin zone. We verify this search strategy and id…
Considerable efforts have recently been devoted to the experimental realization of a two-dimensional Chern insulator, i.e., a system displaying a quantum anomalous Hall effect. However, existing approaches such as those based on magnetic doping of topological-insulator thin films have resulted in small band gaps, restricting the effect to low temperatures. We use first-principles calculations to demonstrate that an interface between thin films of the topologically trivial ferromagnetic insulators EuO and GdN can result in a band inversion and a non-zero Chern number. Both materials are stoichi…
We demonstrate that a Chern insulator could be realized on a real two-dimensional lattice of an organic Dirac semimetal α-(BEDT-TTF)2I3 by introducing potential and magnetic modulations in a unit cell. It is a topologically-nontrivial insulator which shows the quantum Hall effect even at zero magnetic field. We assumed a pattern of site potential and staggered plaquette magnetic flux on the lattice so as to imitate the observed stripe charge ordering pattern. When the magnetic modulation is sufficiently large, the system becomes a Chern insulator, where Berry curvatures around two gapped Dirac…
We present a Wannier-based method to calculate the Chern-Simons orbital magnetoelectric coupling in the framework of first-principles density-functional theory. In view of recent developments in connection with strong Z2 topological insulators, we anticipate that the Chern-Simons contribution to the magnetoelectric coupling could, in special cases, be as large or larger than the total magnetoelectric coupling in known magnetoelectrics like Cr2O3. The results of our calculations for the ordinary magnetoelectrics Cr2O3, BiFeO3 and GdAlO3 confirm that the Chern-Simons contribution is quite small …
Chern insulators are periodic band insulators with the property that their projector onto the occupied bands have non-zero Chern number. Chern insulator with a homogeneous boundary display continuum spectrum that fills the entire insulating gap. The local density of states corresponding to this part of the spectrum is localized near the boundary, hence the terminology edge spectrum. An interesting question arises, namely, if a rough boundary, which can be seen as a strong random potential acting on these quasi 1-dimensional states, would destroy the continuum edge spectrum. This paper shows ho…
Topological insulator(TI) is a phase of matter discovered recently. Kane and Mele proposed this phase is distinguished from the ordinary band insulator by a Z2 topological invariant.2 Several authors have try to related this Z2 invariant to Chern numbers. Roy find a way to calculate Z2 by Chern Number of one of the two degenerate Bands or one-band Chern number(OBChN). However, he give no concrete concrete proof of the equivalence of his Z2 and the Z2 in ref[2] beside \from the topological considerations of K theory". So the importance of OBChN hasn't been recognized by the community. In this l…
Real Chern insulators have attracted great interest, but so far, their material realization is limited to nonmagnetic crystals and to systems without spin-orbit coupling. Here, we reveal magnetic real Chern insulator (MRCI) state in a recently synthesized metal-organic framework material Co3(HITP)2. Its ground state with in-plane ferromagnetic ordering hosts a nontrivial real Chern number, enabled by the C2zT symmetry and robust against spin-orbit coupling. Distinct from previous nonmagnetic examples, the topological corner zero-modes of MRCI are spin-polarized. Furthermore, under small tensil…
The search for robust examples of the magnetic version of topological insulators, referred to as quantum anomalous Hall insulators or simply Chern insulators, so far lacks success. Our groups have explored two distinct possibilities based on multiorbital 3d oxide honeycomb lattices. Each has a Chern insulating phase near the ground state, but materials parameters were not appropriate to produce a viable Chern insulator. Further exploration of one of these classes, by substituting open shell 3d with 4d and 5d counterparts, has led to realistic prediction of Chern insulating ground states. Here …
A sizable transverse thermoelectric coefficient N , large to the extent that it potentially serves applications, is predicted to arise, by means of first-principles calculations, in a Skyrmion crystal assumed on EuO monolayer where carrier electrons are introduced upon a quantum anomalous Hall insulating phase of Chern number C = 2. This encourages future experiments to pursue such an effect.
