Spin Fluctuations in Quantized Transport of Magnetic Topological Insulators

Yu-Hang Li and Ran Cheng
Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 026601 – Published 13 January 2021

Abstract

In magnetic topological insulators, quantized electronic transport is intertwined with spontaneous magnetic ordering, as magnetization controls band gaps, hence band topology, through the exchange interaction. We show that considering the exchange gaps at the mean-field level is inadequate to predict phase transitions between electronic states of distinct topology. Thermal spin fluctuations disturbing the magnetization can act as frozen disorders that strongly scatter electrons, reducing the onset temperature of quantized transport appreciably even in the absence of structural impurities. This effect, which has hitherto been overlooked, provides an alternative explanation of recent experiments on magnetic topological insulators.

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  • Received 1 October 2020
  • Accepted 23 December 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.026601

© 2021 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

Yu-Hang Li1,* and Ran Cheng1,2,†

  • 1Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Riverside, California 92521, USA
  • 2Department of Physics, University of California, Riverside, California 92521, USA

  • *yuhang.li@ucr.edu
  • rancheng@ucr.edu

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Vol. 126, Iss. 2 — 15 January 2021

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