Three-dimensional quantum Hall insulators in magnetic pyrochlore systems
Abstract
We show that a class of pyrochlore materials provides a route to realize 3D Quantum Hall insulators, based on magnetic texture and flat band interference. We study itinerant electrons on a pyrochlore lattice Kondo-coupled to localized moments living on another interpenetrating pyrochlore lattice, with the moments forming a field-selected three-in/one-out texture. The noncoplanar texture generates complex spin-dependent hopping amplitudes and unequal local exchange energies, reconstructing the compact-localized parent flat bands into narrow bands separated by a global three-dimensional gap. The low-energy states are concentrated predominantly on kagome planes within the three-dimensional lattice, reflecting the combined effects of quantum interference and the texture-induced sublattice potential. When the lowest band is fully occupied, the response is characterized by a Chern triplet C=(1,1,1) and reciprocal Hall vector GH=(2π/a)(1,1,1), giving σyz=σzx=σxy=e2/(ha). The quantized bulk Hall response enforces chiral surface spectral flow, visible as noncontractible Fermi loops at the surface. Our work opens a new direction in the search for three-dimensional quantum Hall physics in magnetic pyrochlore systems, and suggests a broad design principle based on the interplay of magnetic texture and flat-band interference.
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BibTeX
@misc{lin2026threedimensional,
title = {{Three-dimensional quantum Hall insulators in magnetic pyrochlore systems}},
author = {Ze-Xun Lin and Robert-Jan Slager and Claudio Castelnovo},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.36199},
eprint = {2610.36199},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.36199},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Three-dimensional quantum Hall insulators in magnetic pyrochlore systems
AU - Ze-Xun Lin
AU - Robert-Jan Slager
AU - Claudio Castelnovo
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/26
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.36199
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.36199
AB - We show that a class of pyrochlore materials provides a route to realize 3D Quantum Hall insulators, based on magnetic texture and flat band interference. We study itinerant electrons on a pyrochlore lattice Kondo-coupled to localized moments living on another interpenetrating pyrochlore lattice, with the moments forming a field-selected three-in/one-out texture. The noncoplanar texture generates complex spin-dependent hopping amplitudes and unequal local exchange energies, reconstructing the compact-localized parent flat bands into narrow bands separated by a global three-dimensional gap. The low-energy states are concentrated predominantly on kagome planes within the three-dimensional lattice, reflecting the combined effects of quantum interference and the texture-induced sublattice potential. When the lowest band is fully occupied, the response is characterized by a Chern triplet C=(1,1,1) and reciprocal Hall vector G_H=(2π/a)(1,1,1), giving σ_yz=σ_zx=σ_xy=e^2/(ha). The quantized bulk Hall response enforces chiral surface spectral flow, visible as noncontractible Fermi loops at the surface. Our work opens a new direction in the search for three-dimensional quantum Hall physics in magnetic pyrochlore systems, and suggests a broad design principle based on the interplay of magnetic texture and flat-band interference.
ER -