Distinct quantum anomalous Hall ground states induced by magnetic disorders

TL;DR

This study reveals that magnetic disorders in topological insulators induce two distinct quantum anomalous Hall ground states, with unique phase transitions and critical behaviors, expanding understanding of topological phases influenced by disorder.

Contribution

It demonstrates that magnetic disorders lead to two distinct QAH ground states and characterizes their phase transitions and critical phenomena.

Findings

Identification of QAH and anomalous Hall insulator phases

Universal quantized resistance in low disorder QAH regime

Magnetic field-driven transition with unique scaling behaviors

Abstract

The quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect in magnetic topological insulator (TI) represents a new state of matter originated from the interplay between topology and magnetism. The defining characteristics of the QAH ground state are the quantized Hall resistivity ($\rho_{yx}$) and vanishing longitudinal resistivity ($\rho_{xx}$) in the absence of external magnetic field. A fundamental question concerning the QAH effect is whether it is merely a zero-magnetic-field quantum Hall (QH) effect, or if it can host unique quantum phases and phase transitions that are unavailable elsewhere. The most dramatic departure of the QAH systems from other QH systems lies in the strong magnetic disorders that induce spatially random magnetization. Because disorder and magnetism play pivotal roles in the phase diagram of two-dimensional electron systems, the high degree of magnetic disorders in QAH systems may create novel phases and quantum critical phenomena. In this work, we perform systematic transport studies of a series of magnetic TIs with varied strength of magnetic disorders. We find that the ground state of QAH effect can be categorized into two distinct classes: the QAH insulator and anomalous Hall (AH) insulator phases, as the zero-magnetic-field counterparts of the QH liquid and Hall insulator in the QH systems. In the low disorder limit of the QAH insulator regime, we observe a universal quantized longitudinal resistance $\rho_{xx} = h/e^{2}$ at the coercive field. In the AH insulator regime, we find that a magnetic field can drive it to the QAH insulator phase through a quantum critical point with distinct scaling behaviors from that in the QH phase transition. We propose that the transmission between chiral edge states at domain boundaries, tunable by disorder and magnetic fields, is the key for determining the QAH ground state.