Piezoelectricity: Quantized Charge Transport Driven by Adiabatic Deformations

TL;DR

This paper investigates the quantum piezoelectric response in Harper-like models, revealing how small periodic atomic modulations can induce quantized charge transport linked to topological invariants.

Contribution

It demonstrates that minimal atomic deformations can produce nonzero charge transport in topologically nontrivial quantum systems.

Findings

Charge transport is related to topological invariants (Chern numbers).

Small periodic modulations induce quantized charge transport.

Inversion symmetry breaking is crucial for the effect.

Abstract

We study the (zero temperature) quantum piezoelectric response of Harper-like models with broken inversion symmetry. The charge transport in these models is related to topological invariants (Chern numbers). We show that there are arbitrarily small periodic modulations of the atomic positions that lead to nonzero charge transport for the electrons.