Electrically Reversible Layer-Tensor Responses in Bilayers
Abstract
The layer Hall effect provides a prototypical example of a hidden layer response in van der Waals bilayers: opposite layers carry compensating Hall currents at zero out-of-plane electric field, while an applied out-of-plane electric field Ez selects one layer over the other and switches the net Hall response. Here we show that this field-switching mechanism is not restricted to Hall transport, but follows from a general symmetry principle for response tensors. We formulate a selection rule for the layer tensor effect (LTE) using Jahn symbols. For a tensor with Jahn symbol J and rank r, the stacking operation that exchanges the two layers acts as a coset representative relating the +Ez and −Ez states. Tensor components that are odd under this operation are forced to cancel between layers at Ez=0, and acquire a macroscopic response satisfying Tα(+Ez)=−Tα(−Ez). This criterion allows us to enumerate the symmetry-allowed electrically reversible tensor components associated with different Jahn symbols and to identify their physical realizations in common response tensors. We apply the theory to representative anomalous Hall, shift-current, nonlinear Drude, piezoelectric, spin Hall, and spin-photocurrent channels. Model calculations and first-principles simulations further confirm the predicted field-odd responses. Our results establish an electrically switchable LTE framework, providing a unified route to multifunctional layertronic responses in bilayer materials.
Versions
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BibTeX
@misc{li2026electrically,
title = {{Electrically Reversible Layer-Tensor Responses in Bilayers}},
author = {Zehou Li and Shenda He and Pan Zhou and Baoru Pan and Rui Tan and Lizhong Sun},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.34067},
eprint = {2610.34067},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.34067},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Electrically Reversible Layer-Tensor Responses in Bilayers
AU - Zehou Li
AU - Shenda He
AU - Pan Zhou
AU - Baoru Pan
AU - Rui Tan
AU - Lizhong Sun
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/25
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.34067
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.34067
AB - The layer Hall effect provides a prototypical example of a hidden layer response in van der Waals bilayers: opposite layers carry compensating Hall currents at zero out-of-plane electric field, while an applied out-of-plane electric field E_z selects one layer over the other and switches the net Hall response. Here we show that this field-switching mechanism is not restricted to Hall transport, but follows from a general symmetry principle for response tensors. We formulate a selection rule for the layer tensor effect (LTE) using Jahn symbols. For a tensor with Jahn symbol J and rank r, the stacking operation that exchanges the two layers acts as a coset representative relating the +E_z and −E_z states. Tensor components that are odd under this operation are forced to cancel between layers at E_z=0, and acquire a macroscopic response satisfying T_α(+E_z)=−T_α(−E_z). This criterion allows us to enumerate the symmetry-allowed electrically reversible tensor components associated with different Jahn symbols and to identify their physical realizations in common response tensors. We apply the theory to representative anomalous Hall, shift-current, nonlinear Drude, piezoelectric, spin Hall, and spin-photocurrent channels. Model calculations and first-principles simulations further confirm the predicted field-odd responses. Our results establish an electrically switchable LTE framework, providing a unified route to multifunctional layertronic responses in bilayer materials.
ER -