The layer Hall effect describes electrons spontaneously deflected to opposite sides at different layers, which has been experimentally reported in the MnBi2Te4 thinfilms under perpendicular electric fields [Gao et al., Nature 595, 521 (2021)]. Here, we reveal a universal origin of the layer Hall effect in terms of the so-called hidden Berry curvature, as well as material design principles. Hence, it gives rise to zero Berry curvature in momentum space but nonzero layer-locked hidden Berry curvature in real space. We show that compared to that of a trivial insulator, the layer Hall effect is significantly enhanced in antiferromagnetic topological insulators. Our universal picture provides a paradigm for revealing the hidden physics as a result of the interplay between the global and local symmetries, and can be generalized in various scenarios.
@article{arxiv.2206.10905,
title = {Layer Hall effect induced by hidden Berry curvature in antiferromagnetic insulators},
author = {Rui Chen and Hai-Peng Sun and Mingqiang Gu and Chun-Bo Hua and Qihang Liu and Hai-Zhou Lu and X. C. Xie},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2206.10905},
year = {2022}
}