English

Interaction-Driven Chern Insulator at Zero Electric Field in ABCB-Stacked Tetralayer Graphene

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics 2026-01-07 v2 Computational Physics

Abstract

ABCB-stacked tetralayer graphene, with intrinsic spontaneous polarization, offers a unique platform to explore electron correlation effects, whose interplay with spin-orbit coupling may engender topological phases. Here, employing a kp\mathbf{k}\cdot\mathbf{p} model with self-consistent Hartree-Fock calculations, we investigate its electronic ground states. Remarkably, we find that the intrinsic polarization, in conjunction with strong interactions (U=8 eVU=8 \text{ eV}) and SOC, is sufficient to drive a C=3C=3 quantum anomalous Hall state, obviating the need for an external electric field typical in ABCA stacks. Conversely, at moderate interactions (U=6 eVU=6 \text{ eV}), a minimal electric field is necessary. Furthermore, calculations predict other correlation-driven metallic phases such as quarter- and three-quarter-filled states. These results establish that the synergy of intrinsic polarization, correlations, and SOC governs the rich topological phenomena, suggesting ABCB-stacked graphene as a highly tunable platform for exploring emergent topological phenomena.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2511.22980,
  title  = {Interaction-Driven Chern Insulator at Zero Electric Field in ABCB-Stacked Tetralayer Graphene},
  author = {Yulu Ren and Yang Shen and Chengyang Xu and Wanfei Shan and Weidong Luo},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2511.22980},
  year   = {2026}
}