Quantum anomalous Hall effect and electric-field-induced topological phase transition in AB-stacked MoTe2/WSe2 moiré heterobilayers

Abstract

We propose a mechanism to explain the quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect and the electric-field-induced topological phase transition in AB-stacked $\mathrm{MoTe}{}_{2}/\mathrm{WSe}{}_{2}$ moir\'e heterobilayers at $\ensuremath{\nu}=1$ hole filling. We suggest that the Chern band of the QAH state is generated from an intrinsic band inversion composed of the highest two moir\'e hole bands with opposite valley numbers and a gap opening induced by two Coulomb-interaction-driven magnetic orders. These magnetic orders, including an in-plane ${120}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$-N\'eel order and an in-plane ferromagnetic order, interact with moir\'e bands via corresponding in-plane exchange fields. The N\'eel order ensures the insulating gap, the ferromagnetic order induces the nonzero Chern number, and both orders contribute to time-reversal symmetry breaking. The N\'eel order is acquired from the Hartree-Fock exchange interaction and the formation of ferromagnetic order is attributed to interlayer-exciton condensation and exciton ferromagnetism. The exciton ferromagnetism can be demonstrated by excitonic Bose-Hubbard physics and Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition. In low electric fields, the equilibrium state is a Mott-insulator state. At a certain electric field, a correlated insulating state composed of the hole-occupied band and the exciton condensate becomes the thermodynamically stable phase and the topological phase transition occurs as the ferromagnetic order emerges. The consistency between the present theory and experimental observations is discussed. Experimental observations, including the spin-polarized/valley-coherent nature of the QAH state, the absence of charge gap closure at the topological phase transition, the canted spin texture, and the insulator-to-metal transition are interpreted by the mechanism.