Light-induced insulator-metal transition in Sr2IrO4 reveals the nature of the insulating ground state.

Sr2IrO4 has attracted considerable attention due to its structural and electronic similarities to La2CuO4, the parent compound of high-Tc superconducting cuprates. It was proposed as a strong spin-orbit-coupled Jeff = 1/2 Mott insulator, but the Mott nature of its insulating ground state has not been conclusively established. Here, we use ultrafast laser pulses to realize an insulator-metal transition in Sr2IrO4 and probe the resulting dynamics using time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. We observe a gap closure and the formation of weakly renormalized electronic bands in the gap region. Comparing these observations to the expected temperature and doping evolution of Mott gaps and Hubbard bands provides clear evidence that the insulating state does not originate from Mott correlations. We instead propose a correlated band insulator picture, where antiferromagnetic correlations play a key role in the gap opening. More broadly, our results demonstrate that energy-momentum-resolved nonequilibrium dynamics can be used to clarify the nature of equilibrium states in correlated materials.

Coexistence of Interacting Charge Density Waves in a Layered Semiconductor.

Coexisting orders are key features of strongly correlated materials and underlie many intriguing phenomena from unconventional superconductivity to topological orders. Here, we report the coexistence of two interacting charge-density-wave (CDW) orders in EuTe_{4}, a layered crystal that has drawn considerable attention owing to its anomalous thermal hysteresis and a semiconducting CDW state despite the absence of perfect Fermi surface nesting. By accessing unoccupied conduction bands with time- and angle-resolved photoemission measurements, we find that monolayers and bilayers of Te in the unit cell host different CDWs that are associated with distinct energy gaps. The two gaps display dichotomous evolutions following photoexcitation, where the larger bilayer CDW gap exhibits less renormalization and faster recovery. Surprisingly, the CDW in the Te monolayer displays an additional momentum-dependent gap renormalization that cannot be captured by density-functional theory calculations. This phenomenon is attributed to interlayer interactions between the two CDW orders, which account for the semiconducting nature of the equilibrium state. Our findings not only offer microscopic insights into the correlated ground state of EuTe_{4} but also provide a general nonequilibrium approach to understand coexisting, layer-dependent orders in a complex system.

Visualization of an axion insulating state at the transition between 2 chiral quantum anomalous Hall states.

Quantum-relativistic materials often host electronic phenomena with exotic spatial distributions. In particular, quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) insulators feature topological boundary currents whose chirality is determined by the magnetization orientation. However, understanding the microscopic nature of edge vs. bulk currents has remained a challenge due to the emergence of multidomain states at the phase transitions. Here we use microwave impedance microscopy (MIM) to directly image chiral edge currents and phase transitions in a magnetic topological insulator. Our images reveal a dramatic change in the edge state structure and an unexpected microwave response at the topological phase transition between the Chern number [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] states, consistent with the emergence of an insulating [Formula: see text] state. The magnetic transition width is independent of film thickness, but the transition pattern is distinct in differently initiated field sweeps. This behavior suggests that the [Formula: see text] state has 2 surface states with Hall conductivities of [Formula: see text] but with opposite signs.

Large Anomalous Hall Effect in Topological Insulators with Proximitized Ferromagnetic Insulators.

We report a proximity-driven large anomalous Hall effect in all-telluride heterostructures consisting of the ferromagnetic insulator Cr_{2}Ge_{2}Te_{6} and topological insulator (Bi,Sb)_{2}Te_{3}. Despite small magnetization in the (Bi,Sb)_{2}Te_{3} layer, the anomalous Hall conductivity reaches a large value of 0.2e^{2}/h in accord with a ferromagnetic response of the Cr_{2}Ge_{2}Te_{6}. The results show that the exchange coupling between the surface state of the topological insulator and the proximitized Cr_{2}Ge_{2}Te_{6} layer is effective and strong enough to open the sizable exchange gap in the surface state.

Current-induced switching of proximity-induced ferromagnetic surface states in a topological insulator.

Electrical manipulation of magnetization could be an essential function for energy-efficient spintronics technology. A magnetic topological insulator, possessing a magnetically gapped surface state with spin-polarized electrons, not only exhibits exotic topological phases relevant to the quantum anomalous Hall state but also enables the electrical control of its magnetic state at the surface. Here, we demonstrate efficient current-induced switching of the surface ferromagnetism in hetero-bilayers consisting of the topological insulator (Bi1-xSbx)2Te3 and the ferromagnetic insulator Cr2Ge2Te6, where the proximity-induced ferromagnetic surface states play two roles: efficient charge-to-spin current conversion and emergence of large anomalous Hall effect. The sign reversal of the surface ferromagnetic states with current injection is clearly observed, accompanying the nearly full magnetization reversal in the adjacent insulating Cr2Ge2Te6 layer of an optimal thickness range. The present results may facilitate an electrical control of dissipationless topological-current circuits.

Emergence of spin-orbit coupled ferromagnetic surface state derived from Zak phase in a nonmagnetic insulator FeSi.

FeSi is a nonmagnetic narrow-gap insulator, exhibiting peculiar charge and spin dynamics beyond a simple band structure picture. Those unusual features have been attracting renewed attention from topological aspects. Although the surface conduction was demonstrated according to size-dependent resistivity in bulk crystals, its topological characteristics and consequent electromagnetic responses remain elusive. Here, we demonstrate an inherent surface ferromagnetic-metal state of FeSi thin films and its strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC) properties through multiple characterizations of two-dimensional conductance, magnetization, and spintronic functionality. Terminated covalent bonding orbitals constitute the polar surface state with momentum-dependent spin textures due to Rashba-type spin splitting, as corroborated by unidirectional magnetoresistance measurements and first-principles calculations. As a consequence of the spin-momentum locking, nonequilibrium spin accumulation causes magnetization switching. These surface properties are closely related to the Zak phase of the bulk band topology. Our findings propose another route to explore noble metal­free materials for SOC-based spin manipulation.

Large non-reciprocal charge transport mediated by quantum anomalous Hall edge states.

The topological nature of the quantum anomalous Hall effect (QAHE) causes a dissipationless chiral edge current at the sample boundary1,2. Of fundamental interest is whether the chirality of the band structure manifests itself in charge transport properties. Here we report the observation of large non-reciprocal charge transport3 in a magnetic topological insulator, Cr-doped (Bi,Sb)2Te3. When the surface massive Dirac band is slightly carrier doped by a gate voltage, the edge state starts to dissipate and exhibits a current-direction-dependent resistance with a directional difference as large as 26%. The polarity of this diode effect depends on the magnetization direction as well as on the carrier type, electrons or holes. The correlation between the non-reciprocal resistance and the Hall resistance indicates that the non-reciprocity originates from the interplay between the chiral edge state and the Dirac surface state.

Tailoring tricolor structure of magnetic topological insulator for robust axion insulator.

Exploration of novel electromagnetic phenomena is a subject of great interest in topological quantum materials. One of the unprecedented effects to be experimentally verified is the topological magnetoelectric (TME) effect originating from an unusual coupling of electric and magnetic fields in materials. A magnetic heterostructure of topological insulator (TI) hosts such exotic magnetoelectric coupling and can be expected to realize the TME effect as an axion insulator. We designed a magnetic TI with a tricolor structure where a nonmagnetic layer of (Bi, Sb)2Te3 is sandwiched by a soft ferromagnetic Cr-doped (Bi, Sb)2Te3 and a hard ferromagnetic V-doped (Bi, Sb)2Te3. Accompanied by the quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect, we observe zero Hall conductivity plateaus, which are a hallmark of the axion insulator state, in a wide range of magnetic fields between the coercive fields of Cr- and V-doped layers. The resistance of the axion insulator state reaches as high as 109 ohms, leading to a gigantic magnetoresistance ratio exceeding 10,000,000% upon the transition from the QAH state. The tricolor structure of the TI may not only be an ideal arena for the topologically distinct phenomena but can also provide magnetoresistive applications for advancing dissipation-less topological electronics.

Terahertz spectroscopy on Faraday and Kerr rotations in a quantum anomalous Hall state.

Electrodynamic responses from three-dimensional topological insulators are characterized by the universal magnetoelectric term constituent of the Lagrangian formalism. The quantized magnetoelectric coupling, which is generally referred to as topological magnetoelectric effect, has been predicted to induce exotic phenomena including the universal low-energy magneto-optical effects. Here we report the experimental indication of the topological magnetoelectric effect, which is exemplified by magneto-optical Faraday and Kerr rotations in the quantum anomalous Hall states of magnetic topological insulator surfaces by terahertz magneto-optics. The universal relation composed of the observed Faraday and Kerr rotation angles but not of any material parameters (for example, dielectric constant and magnetic susceptibility) well exhibits the trajectory towards the fine structure constant in the quantized limit.