English

Cubic edge dispersion in a semi-Dirac Chern insulator

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics 2026-05-06 v1 Other Condensed Matter

Abstract

Topological edge states in Chern insulators are typically characterized by a linear dispersion relation inherited from the Dirac structure of the bulk Hamiltonian. Here we show that this paradigm can be fundamentally altered in systems with anisotropic semi-Dirac band structures. We introduce a minimal two-band lattice model realizing a semi-Dirac Chern insulator and determine its topological phase diagram analytically. Using a mass-domain-wall approach in a semi-infinite geometry, we derive an explicit expression for the chiral edge states and find that their low-energy dispersion scales cubically with momentum, E(k)k3E(k)\propto k^3. Numerical diagonalization of the corresponding tight-binding ribbon confirms the analytical prediction. Our results demonstrate that unconventional bulk band structures can produce qualitatively different boundary excitations, providing a route to engineering nonstandard chiral edge dynamics in topological materials and synthetic quantum systems.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2605.03459,
  title  = {Cubic edge dispersion in a semi-Dirac Chern insulator},
  author = {Marta García Olmos and David Martín Tejedor and Mario Amado and Yuriko Baba and Rafael A. Molina},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2605.03459},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

6 figures, includes the supplemental material

R2 v1 2026-07-01T12:50:23.673Z