Possible interaction-driven topological phases in (111) bilayers of LaNiO<mml:mrow/>3

2011/09/30 by Kai-Yu Yang, Kaiyu Yang, Wenguang Zhu +4 · 146 citations
Materials Science · Mathematics · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Condensed Matter Physics #Condensed matter physics #Magnetic and transport properties of perovskites and related materials #Magnetism #Mathematics #Phase (matter) #Phase diagram #Physics #Quantum mechanics #Topological Materials and Phenomena #Topology (electrical circuits) #cond-mat.mes-hall #cond-mat.str-el

paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevb.84.201104

published in Physical Review B 84(20) (American Physical Society) · 5 pages, 4 figures

arxiv created 2011/11/14 · openalex publication_date 2011/11/14 · arxiv updated 2011/11/15 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

We use the variational mean-field approach to systematically study the phase diagram of a bilayer heterostructure of the correlated transition-metal oxide LaNiO₃, grown along the (111) direction. The Ni³⁺ ions with a d⁷ (or e_g¹) configuration form a buckled honeycomb lattice. We show that, as a function of the strength of the on-site interactions, various topological phases emerge. In the presence of a reasonable size of the Hund's coupling, as the correlation is tuned from intermediate to strong, the following sequence of phases is found: (1) a Dirac half-semimetal phase, (2) a quantum anomalous Hall insulator (QAHI) phase with Chern number one, and (3) a ferromagnetic nematic phase breaking the lattice point-group symmetry. The spin-orbit couplings and magnetism are both dynamically generated in the QAHI phase.

Citations

• Projector augmented-wave method
• From ultrasoft pseudopotentials to the projector augmented-wave method
• Generalized Gradient Approximation Made Simple
• Topological insulators and superconductors
• Quantized Hall Conductance in a Two-Dimensional Periodic Potential
• The birth of topological insulators
• Efficient iterative schemes forab initiototal-energy calculations using a plane-wave basis set
• Topological insulators from complex orbital order in transition-metal oxides heterostructures
• Topological Insulators
• Anyons in an exactly solved model and beyond
• Quantum confinement of Mott electrons in ultrathin LaNiO3/LaAlO3superlattices

Cited by

• Novel phenomena in transition-metal oxide thin films and heterostructures with strong correlations and spin-orbit coupling
• Interface engineering of quantum Hall effects in digital transition metal oxide heterostructures
• Topological insulators from complex orbital order in transition-metal oxides heterostructures
• Doped Mott Insulators in (111) Bilayers of Perovskite Transition-Metal Oxides with a Strong Spin-Orbit Coupling
• Termination-dependent electronic and magnetic properties of ultrathinSrRuO3(111) films onSrTiO3
• Reconstruction-stabilized epitaxy of LaCoO3/SrTiO3(111) heterostructures by pulsed laser deposition