Topological phases in a three-dimensional topological insulator with a time-reversal invariant external field

Abstract

We investigate the impact of a time-reversal invariant external field on the topological phases of a three-dimensional (3D) topological insulator. By taking the momentum kz as a parameter, we calculate the spin-Chern number analytically. It is shown that both the quantum spin Hall phase and the integer quantum Hall phase can be realized in our system. When the strength of the external field is varied, a series of topological phase transitions occurs with the closing of the energy gap or the spin-spectrum gap. In a tight-binding form, the surface modes are discussed numerically to confirm the analytically results.