Kinetic magnetoelectric effect in topological insulators

The kinetic magnetoelectric effect is an orbital analog of the Edelstein effect and offers an additional degree of freedom to control magnetization via the charge current. Here we theoretically propose a gigantic kinetic magnetoelectric effect in topological insulators and interpret the results in terms of topological surface currents. We construct a theory of the kinetic magnetoelectric effect for a surface Hamiltonian of a topological insulator, and show that it well describes the results by direct numerical calculation. This kinetic magnetoelectric effect depends on the details of the surface, meaning that it cannot be defined as a bulk quantity. We propose that Chern insulators and Z₂ topological insulators can be a platform with a large kinetic magnetoelectric effect, compared to metals by 5–8 orders of magnitude, because the current flows only along the surface. We demonstrate the presence of said effect in a topological insulator, identifying Cu₂ZnSnSe₄ as a potential candidate.

Ken Osumi, Tiantian Zhang, Shuichi Murakami