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Two-dimensional Weyl half-semimetal and tunable quantum anomalous Hall effect

Jing-Yang You, Cong Chen, Zhen Zhang, Xian-Lei Sheng, Shengyuan A. Yang, and Gang Su
Phys. Rev. B 100, 064408 – Published 19 August 2019

Abstract

Topological states of matter and two-dimensional (2D) magnetism are two fascinating topics attracting tremendous interest in current research. In this work, we explore their interplay in a single 2D material system by proposing a different topological quantum state of matter—the 2D Weyl half-semimetal (WHS), which features 2D Weyl points at the Fermi level belonging to a single spin channel, such that the low-energy electrons are described by fully spin polarized 2D Weyl fermions. We provide the condition to realize this state, which requires an in-plane magnetization and a preserved vertical mirror symmetry. Remarkably, we prove that the WHS state is a critical state sitting at the topological phase transition between two quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) insulator phases with opposite Chern numbers, such that a switching of the QAH states as well as the direction of chiral edge channels can be readily achieved by rotating the magnetization direction. Furthermore, we predict a concrete 2D material, monolayer PtCl3, as a candidate for realizing the 2D WHS state and the above intriguing effects. Our findings open up a new direction of research at the confluent point of topology and magnetism in two dimensions, and the revealed route towards switchable QAH phases will enable new designs of topological nanoelectronic devices.

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  • Received 14 March 2019
  • Revised 30 May 2019

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.100.064408

©2019 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

Jing-Yang You1, Cong Chen2,3, Zhen Zhang1, Xian-Lei Sheng2,3,*, Shengyuan A. Yang3,4,†, and Gang Su1,5,‡

  • 1School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
  • 2Department of Physics, Key Laboratory of Micro-nano Measurement-Manipulation and Physics (Ministry of Education), Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
  • 3Research Laboratory for Quantum Materials, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore 487372, Singapore
  • 4Center for Quantum Transport and Thermal Energy Science, School of Physics and Technology, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China
  • 5Kavli Institute for Theoretical Sciences and CAS Center for Excellence in Topological Quantum Computation, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China

  • *xlsheng@buaa.edu.cn
  • shengyuan_yang@sutd.edu.sg
  • gsu@ucas.ac.cn

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Issue

Vol. 100, Iss. 6 — 1 August 2019

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