Direct observation of chiral edge current at zero magnetic field in a magnetic topological insulator

Jinjiang Zhu, Yang Feng, Xiaodong Zhou, Yongchao Wang, Hongxu Yao, Zichen Lian, Weiyan Lin, Qiushi He, Yishi Lin, Youfang Wang, Yongqian Wang, Shuai Yang, Hao Li, Yang Wu, Chang Liu, Jing Wang, Jian Shen, Jinsong Zhang (), Yayu Wang and Yihua Wang ()
Additional contact information
Jinjiang Zhu: Fudan University
Yang Feng: Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences
Xiaodong Zhou: Fudan University
Yongchao Wang: Tsinghua University
Hongxu Yao: Fudan University
Zichen Lian: Tsinghua University
Weiyan Lin: Fudan University
Qiushi He: Fudan University
Yishi Lin: Fudan University
Youfang Wang: Fudan University
Yongqian Wang: Renmin University of China
Shuai Yang: Renmin University of China
Hao Li: Tsinghua University
Yang Wu: Tsinghua University
Chang Liu: Renmin University of China
Jing Wang: Fudan University
Jian Shen: Fudan University
Jinsong Zhang: Tsinghua University
Yayu Wang: Tsinghua University
Yihua Wang: Fudan University

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract The chiral edge current is the boundary manifestation of the Chern number of a quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) insulator. The van der Waals antiferromagnet MnBi2Te4 is theorized to be a QAH in odd-layers but has shown Hall resistivity below the quantization value at zero magnetic field. Here, we perform scanning superconducting quantum interference device (sSQUID) microscopy on these seemingly failed QAH insulators to image their current distribution. When gated to the charge neutral point, our device exhibits edge current, which flows unidirectionally on the odd-layer boundary both with vacuum and with the even-layers. The edge current chirality reverses with the magnetization of the bulk. Surprisingly, we find the edge channels coexist with finite bulk conduction even though the bulk chemical potential is in the band gap, suggesting their robustness under significant edge–bulk scattering. Our result establishes the existence of chiral edge currents in a topological antiferromagnet and offers an alternative for identifying QAH states.

Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-56326-7 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-56326-7

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-56326-7

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().