Topological Properties of the 2D 2-Band System with Generalized W-Shaped Band Inversion

Abstract

We report the topological properties, in terms of the Berry phase, of the 2D noninteracting system with electron–hole band inversion, described by the two-band generalized analogue of the low-energy Bernevig–Hughes–Zhang Hamiltonian, yielding the W-shaped energy bands in the form of two intersecting cones with the gap along the closed continuous loop. We identify the range of parameters where the Berry phase attains qualitatively different values: (a) the integer multiplier of 2π, (b) the integer multiplier of π, and (c) the nontrivial value between the latter two, which depends on the system parameters. The system thus exhibits the anomalous quantum Hall effect associated with the nontrivial geometric phase, which is presumably tunable through the choice of parameters at hand.

Keywords

• Berry phase
• geometric phase
• anomalous quantum Hall effect
• Chern number
• topological insulators
• Chern insulators