Coexistence of topologically nontrivial and trivial insulating states in topological Anderson Chern insulator

Abstract

The interplay between disorder and topology has become a central theme in condensed matter physics. Disorder can not only destroy topological phases but also induce them, as exemplified by the topological Anderson insulator (TAI). Here we show that, in close analogy, disorder can drive the clean-limit, time-reversal-broken(T-broken) quantum spin Hall state of ferromagnetic(FM) monolayer MnBi4Te7 into a quantum anomalous Hall phase, which was called topological Anderson Chern insulator (TACI). Using density functional theory (DFT) and nonequilibrium Green's func tion (NEGF) calculations in the presence of disorder, we identify disorder induced phases-including T-broken TAI, TACI, Normal insulator, etc., then construct a comprehensive phase diagram. To discriminate multiple phases in the strong disorder regime, we further use the density of states computed within the self-consistent Born approximation (SCBA), which in particular distinguishes gapped and ungapped topological phases. We find that the two effective band inversions of Hamiltonian are suppressed at distinct critical disorder strengths; the survival of a single inversion over a finite disorder window stabilizes the TACI. Remarkably, at strong disorder, we further propose a zero Hall plateau insulating state characterized by an insulating bulk and edge channels subject to diffusive scattering that can coexist with the TACI. This behavior is distinct from a conventional band-gap Chern insulator and provides a clear experimental signature.