Moiré Quantum Layer Hall Effect
Abstract
Even-layer topological antiferromagnetic thin films such as MnBi2Te4 exhibit an unconventional layer Hall effect (LHE) arising from a layer-locked Berry curvature. This effect manifests as a layer-polarized anomalous Hall effect that can be controlled by a vertical displacement field. However, achieving a quantized version of the LHE remains experimentally challenging. In this work, we propose that moiré engineering, using an electrostatic superlattice potential from control layers, can realize the quantum layer Hall effect (QLHE). Specifically, by placing moiré control layers in close proximity to the surfaces of a MnBi2Te4 thin film without breaking PT symmetry, the resulting system exhibits a vanishing net Hall conductance but a quantized layer Hall conductance of e2/h. A weak gate electric field then breaks PT symmetry and drives the system into a layer-polarized quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) phase. Furthermore, when a single control layer is introduced on only one surface, the layer-polarized QAH emerges even in the absence of an external electric field. We identify the microscopic origin of the QLHE as an emergent layer-U(1) gauge field generated by the scalar moiré potential, which in turn produces opposite periodic pseudomagnetic fields on the top and bottom layers. Our work provides a feasible pathway toward realizing the QLHE in antiferromagnetic thin films.
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BibTeX
@misc{hu2026moiré,
title = {{Moiré Quantum Layer Hall Effect}},
author = {Jin-Xin Hu and Wen-Bo Dai and X. C. Xie},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.34941},
eprint = {2609.34941},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.34941},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Moiré Quantum Layer Hall Effect
AU - Jin-Xin Hu
AU - Wen-Bo Dai
AU - X. C. Xie
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/28
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.34941
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.34941
AB - Even-layer topological antiferromagnetic thin films such as MnBi_2Te_4 exhibit an unconventional layer Hall effect (LHE) arising from a layer-locked Berry curvature. This effect manifests as a layer-polarized anomalous Hall effect that can be controlled by a vertical displacement field. However, achieving a quantized version of the LHE remains experimentally challenging. In this work, we propose that moiré engineering, using an electrostatic superlattice potential from control layers, can realize the quantum layer Hall effect (QLHE). Specifically, by placing moiré control layers in close proximity to the surfaces of a MnBi_2Te_4 thin film without breaking PT symmetry, the resulting system exhibits a vanishing net Hall conductance but a quantized layer Hall conductance of e^2/h. A weak gate electric field then breaks PT symmetry and drives the system into a layer-polarized quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) phase. Furthermore, when a single control layer is introduced on only one surface, the layer-polarized QAH emerges even in the absence of an external electric field. We identify the microscopic origin of the QLHE as an emergent layer-U(1) gauge field generated by the scalar moiré potential, which in turn produces opposite periodic pseudomagnetic fields on the top and bottom layers. Our work provides a feasible pathway toward realizing the QLHE in antiferromagnetic thin films.
ER -