In-plane Magnetization Induced Quantum Anomalous Hall Effect

TL;DR

This paper predicts that the quantum anomalous Hall effect can be induced by in-plane magnetization in certain 2D systems, expanding the conditions under which this phenomenon can occur and suggesting new experimental avenues.

Contribution

It demonstrates that in-plane magnetization can induce the quantum anomalous Hall effect, challenging the common belief that out-of-plane magnetization is necessary.

Findings

Quantum anomalous Hall effect can be induced by in-plane magnetization.

Broken reflection symmetries are essential for this effect.

Proposed experimental setup to verify the prediction.

Abstract

In a two-dimensional electron gas, the quantized Hall conductance can be induced by a strong magnetic field, known as the quantum Hall effect, and it can also result from the strong exchange coupling of magnetic ions, dubbed as the "quantum anomalous Hall effect". The quantum Hall effect requires the out-of-plane magnetic field, and similarly, it is commonly believed that the magnetization should be out-of-plane for the quantum anomalous Hall effect. In the present work, we find this condition is not necessary and predict that the quantum anomalous Hall effect can also be induced by the purely in-plane magnetization in two realistic systems, including Bi$_2$Te$_3$ thin film with magnetic doping and HgMnTe quantum wells with shear strains, when all the reflection symmetries are broken. An experimental setup is proposed to confirm this effect, the observation of which will pave the way to search for the quantum anomalous Hall effect in a wider range of materials.