2007/10/31 by P. Středa, Pavel Streda, Thibaut Jonckheere +1 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Mechanical and Optical Resonators #Quantum and electron transport phenomena #Topological Materials and Phenomena #cond-mat.mes-hall
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.100.146804
published as Physical Review Letters 100 (2008) 146804
arxiv created 2007/10/31 · openalex publication_date 2008/04/10 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
A theory of the static electron polarizability of crystals whose energy spectrum is modified by quantizing magnetic fields is presented. The polarizability is strongly affected by nondissipative Hall currents induced by the presence of crossed electric and magnetic fields: these can even change its sign. Results are illustrated in detail for a two-dimensional square lattice. The polarizability and the Hall conductivity are, respectively, linked to the two topological quantum numbers entering the so-called Diophantine equation. These numbers could in principle be detected in actual experiments.