Kinetic magnetoelectric effect in topological insulators

TL;DR

This paper predicts a large kinetic magnetoelectric effect in topological insulators, driven by surface currents, offering a new way to control magnetization with charge currents, with potential applications in spintronics.

Contribution

The paper introduces a theoretical framework for the kinetic magnetoelectric effect in topological insulators and identifies materials with significantly enhanced effects due to surface conduction.

Findings

The kinetic magnetoelectric effect is substantial in topological insulators due to surface states.

The effect can be 5-8 orders of magnitude larger than in metals.

Cu$_2$ZnSnSe$_4$ is identified as a promising candidate for observing this effect.

Abstract

The kinetic magnetoelectric effect is an orbital analogue of the Edelstein effect and offers an additional degree of freedom to control magnetisation via the charge current. Here we theoretically propose a gigantic kinetic magnetoelectric effect in topological insulators and interpret the results in terms of topological surface currents. We construct a theory of the kinetic magnetoelectric effect for a surface Hamiltonian of a topological insulator, and show that it well describes the results by direct numerical calculation. This kinetic magnetoelectric effect depends on the details of the surface, meaning that it cannot be defined as a bulk quantity. We propose that Chern insulators and Z_2 topological insulators can be a platform with a large kinetic magnetoelectric effect, compared to metals by 5 - 8 orders of magnitude, because the current flows only along the surface. We demonstrate the presence of said effect in a topological insulator, identifying Cu$_2$ZnSnSe$_4$ as a potential candidate.