Delocalization Transition of a Disordered Axion Insulator

Zhi Da Song, Biao Lian, Raquel Queiroz, Roni Ilan, B. Andrei Bernevig, Ady Stern

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

The axion insulator is a higher-order topological insulator protected by inversion symmetry. We show that, under quenched disorder respecting inversion symmetry on average, the topology of the axion insulator stays robust, and an intermediate metallic phase in which states are delocalized is unavoidable at the transition from an axion insulator to a trivial insulator. We derive this conclusion from general arguments, from classical percolation theory, and from the numerical study of a 3D quantum network model simulating a disordered axion insulator through a layer construction. We find the localization length critical exponent near the delocalization transition to be ν=1.42±0.12. We further show that this delocalization transition is stable even to weak breaking of the average inversion symmetry, up to a critical strength. We also quantitatively map our quantum network model to an effective Hamiltonian and we find its low-energy k·p expansion.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number016602
JournalPhysical review letters
Volume127
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2 2021

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Physics and Astronomy

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