Numerical calculation of the $k$-space second Chern number in four dimensions

Abstract

We propose an efficient numerical method to compute the $k$-space second Chern number in four-dimensional (4D) topological systems. Our approach employs an adaptive mesh refinement scheme to evaluate the Brillouin-zone integral, which automatically increases the grid density in regions where the Berry curvature is sharply peaked. We compare our method with the 4D lattice-gauge extension of the Fukui-Hatsugai-Suzuki method and a direct uniform grid integration scheme. Compared with these approaches, our method (i) achieves the same accuracy with substantially fewer diagonalizations, and thus runs faster; (ii) requires minimal memory to execute, enabling calculations for larger systems; and (iii) remains accurate even near topological phase transitions where conventional methods often face challenges. These results demonstrate that the adaptive subdivision strategy is a practical and powerful tool for calculating the $k$-space second Chern number.