Please wait a minute...
Chin. Phys. B, 2026, Vol. 35(5): 057301    DOI: 10.1088/1674-1056/ae42bb
RAPID COMMUNICATION Prev  

Quantum anomalous Hall effect with tunable Chern numbers induced by d-wave sublattice-staggered altermagnetism

Lizhou Liu(刘立周)1 and Qing-Feng Sun(孙庆丰)1,2,†
1 International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China;
2 Hefei National Laboratory, Hefei 230088, China
Abstract  We construct a minimal spinful tight-binding model on a square lattice, where a d-wave sublattice-staggered altermagnetism drives the quantum anomalous Hall effect. Here the exchange field is staggered between the two sublattices, where it takes opposite signs on $A$ and $B$ described by the Pauli matrix $\tau_z$. The resulting insulating phases host tunable Chern numbers $\mathcal{C}=\pm1$ and $\mathcal{C}=\pm2$, controlled by the staggered exchange strength and the sublattice-staggered potential. We determine the complete phase diagram, identify valley-resolved band inversions at the $X$ and $Y$ points in the Brillouin zone, and demonstrate chiral edge states together with quantized two-terminal conductance plateaus. Our work provides a simple route to realizing the quantum anomalous Hall effect in compensated magnets via a d-wave sublattice-staggered altermagnetism.
Keywords:  quantum anomalous Hall effect      altermagnetism      tunable Chern number      tight binding model  
Received:  24 December 2025      Revised:  04 February 2026      Accepted manuscript online:  06 February 2026
PACS:  73.43.-f (Quantum Hall effects)  
  03.65.Vf (Phases: geometric; dynamic or topological)  
  75.50.Ee (Antiferromagnetics)  
  72.20.My (Galvanomagnetic and other magnetotransport effects)  
Fund: This work was financially supported by the National Key R & D Program of China (Grant No. 2024YFA1409002), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 12374034 and 12547169), and the Quantum Science and Technology-National Science and Technology Major Project of China (Grant No. 2021ZD0302403).
Corresponding Authors:  Qing-Feng Sun     E-mail:  sunqf@pku.edu.cn

Cite this article: 

Lizhou Liu(刘立周) and Qing-Feng Sun(孙庆丰) Quantum anomalous Hall effect with tunable Chern numbers induced by d-wave sublattice-staggered altermagnetism 2026 Chin. Phys. B 35 057301

[1] Haldane F D M 1988 Phys. Rev. Lett. 61 2015
[2] Hasan M Z and Kane C L 2010 Rev. Mod. Phys. 82 3045
[3] Qi X L and Zhang S C 2011 Rev. Mod. Phys. 83 1057
[4] Chang C Z, Liu C X and MacDonald A H 2023 Rev. Mod. Phys. 95 011002
[5] Liu C X, Zhang S C and Qi X L 2016 Annu. Rev. Condens. Matter Phys. 7 301
[6] Weng H, Yu R, Hu X, Dai X and Fang Z 2015 Adv. Phys. 64 227
[7] Bansil A, Lin H and Das T 2016 Rev. Mod. Phys. 88 021004
[8] Ren Y, Qiao Z and Niu Q 2016 Rep. Prog. Phys. 79 066501
[9] Xiao D, Jiang J, Shin J H, Wang W, Wang F, Zhao Y F, Liu C, Wu W, Chan M H W, Samarth N and Chang C Z 2018 Phys. Rev. Lett. 120 056801
[10] Nagaosa N, Sinova J, Onoda S, MacDonald A H and Ong N P 2010 Rev. Mod. Phys. 82 1539
[11] Xu G, Weng H, Wang Z, Dai X and Fang Z 2011 Phys. Rev. Lett. 107 186806
[12] Wan Y H, Liu P Y, and Sun Q F 2025 Phys. Rev. Lett. 135 186302
[13] Mei R, Zhao Y F, Wang C, Ren Y, Xiao D, Chang C Z and Liu C X 2024 Phys. Rev. Lett. 132 066604
[14] Li Z and Wang Z F 2020 Chin. Phys. B 29 107101
[15] Wang W X, Liu Y W and He L 2025 Chin. Phys. B 34 047301
[16] Wu X C, Li S Z, Si J S, Huang B and Zhang W B 2024 Chin. Phys. Lett. 41 057303
[17] Ren X L and Zhang C W 2024 Chin. Phys. B 33 067102
[18] Qiao Z, Tse W K, Jiang H, Yao Y G and Niu Q 2011 Phys. Rev. Lett. 107 256801
[19] Qiao Z, Yang S A, Feng W, Tse W K, Ding J, Yao Y, Wang J and Niu Q 2010 Phys. Rev. B 82 161414
[20] Yu R, Zhang W, Zhang H J, Zhang S C, Dai X and Fang Z 2010 Science 329 61
[21] Wang Q Z, Liu X, Zhang H J, Samarth N, Zhang S C and Liu C X 2014 Phys. Rev. Lett. 113 147201
[22] Sun H, Xia B, Chen Z, Zhang Y, Liu P, Yao Q, Tang H, Zhao Y, Xu H and Liu Q 2019 Phys. Rev. Lett. 123 096401
[23] Wang Z F, Liu Z and Liu F 2013 Phys. Rev. Lett. 110 196801
[24] Liu C X, Qi X L, Dai X, Fang Z and Zhang S C 2008 Phys. Rev. Lett. 101 146802
[25] Chang C Z, Zhang J, Feng X, Shen J, Zhang Z, Guo M, Li K, Ou Y, Wei P, Wang L L, Ji Z Q, Feng Y, Ji S, Chen X, Jia J, Dai X, Fang Z, Zhang S C, He K, Wang Y, Lu L, Ma X C and Xue Q K 2013 Science 340 167
[26] He K, Wang Y and Xue Q K 2018 Annu. Rev. Condens. Matter Phys. 9 329
[27] Smejkal L, Mokrousov Y, Yan B and MacDonald A H 2018 Nat. Phys. 14 242
[28] Otrokov M M, Klimovskikh I I, Bentmann H, Estyunin D, Zeugner A, Aliev Z S, Gaß, Wolter A U B, Koroleva A V, Shikin A M, BlancoRey M, Hoffmann M, Rusinov I P, Vyazovskaya A Yu, Eremeev S V, Koroteev Yu M, Kuznetsov V M, Freyse F, Sanchez-Barriga J, Ami- raslanov I R, Babanly M B, Mamedov N T, Abdullayev N A, Zverev V N, Alfonsov A, Kataev V, Buchner B, Schwier E F, Kumar S, Kimura A, Petaccia L, Di Santo G, Vidal R C, Schatz S, Kißner K, Unzelmann M, Min C H, Moser S, Peixoto T R F, Reinert F, Ernst A, Echenique P M, Isaeva A and Chulkov E V 2019 Nature 576 416
[29] Mong R S K, Essin A M and Moore J E 2010 Phys. Rev. B 81 245209
[30] Deng Y, Yu Y, Shi M Z, Guo Z, Xu Z, Wang J, Chen X H and Zhang Y 2020 Science 367 895
[31] Liang W, Li Z, An J, Ren Y, Qiao Z and Niu Q 2025 Phys. Rev. Lett. 134 116603
[32] Guo P J, Liu Z X and Lu Z Y 2023 npj Comput. Mater. 9 70
[33] Smejkal L, Sinova J and Jungwirth T 2022 Phys. Rev. X 12 031042
[34] Smejkal L, Sinova J and Jungwirth T 2022 Phys. Rev. X 12 040501
[35] Leeb V, Mook A, Smejkal L and Knolle J 2024 Phys. Rev. Lett. 132 236701
[36] Smejkal L, Gonz alez-Hern andez R, Jungwirth T and Sinova J 2022 Nat. Rev. Mater. 7 482
[37] Wang Q, Wu D W, Guo G H, Long M Q and Wang Y P 2024 Chin. Phys. B 33 097507
[38] Smejkal L, Gonz alez-Hern andez R, Jungwirth T and Sinova J 2020 Sci. Adv. 6 eaaz8809
[39] Yuan L D, Wang Z, Luo J W, Rashba E I and Zunger A 2020 Phys. Rev. B 102 014422
[40] Ga Y, Zhang F, Wang L, Jiang J, Chang K and Yang H 2025 Phys. Rev. B 112 L020407
[41] Zhu Y P, Chen X, Liu X R, Liu Y and Liu P 2024 Nature 626 523
[42] Krempasky J, Smejkal L, D’Souza S W, Hajlaoui M, Springholz G and Jungwirth T 2024 Nature 626 517
[43] Yi X J, Mao Y, Lu X and Sun Q F 2025 Phys. Rev. B 111 035423
[44] Sun Y F, Mao Y, Zhuang Y C and Sun Q F 2025 Phys. Rev. B 112 094411
[45] Wan Y H and Sun Q F 2025 Phys. Rev. B 111 045407
[46] Wan Y H, Liu P Y and Sun Q F 2025 Phys. Rev. B 112 115412
[47] Ghorashi S A A, Hughes T L and Cano J 2024 Phys. Rev. Lett. 133 106601
[48] Zhu D, Zhuang Z Y, Wu Z and Yan Z 2023 Phys. Rev. B 108 184505
[49] Li Y X and Liu C C 2023 Phys. Rev. B 108 205410
[50] Li Y X, Liu Y and Liu C C 2024 Phys. Rev. B 109 L201109
[51] Ezawa M 2024 Phys. Rev. B 109 245306
[52] Liu L, Sun Q F and Zhang Y T 2026 SciPost Phys. 20 115
[53] Sun C, Brataas A and Linder J 2023 Phys. Rev. B 108 054511
[54] Papaj M 2023 Phys. Rev. B 108 L060508
[55] Cheng Q, Mao Y and Sun Q F 2024 Phys. Rev. B 110 014518
[56] Cheng Q and Sun Q F 2024 Phys. Rev. B 109 024517
[57] Attias L, Levchenko A and Khodas M 2024 Phys. Rev. B 110 094425
[58] Sato T, Haddad S, Fulga I C, Assaad F F and van den Brink J 2024 Phys. Rev. Lett. 133 086503
[59] Li Z, Li Z and Qiao Z 2025 Phys. Rev. B 111 155303
[60] Meier Q N, Carta A, Ederer C and Cano A 2026 Phys. Rev. Lett. 136 116705
[61] Liu P, Li J, Han J, Wan X and Liu Q 2022 Phys. Rev. X 12 021016
[62] Yang J, Liu Z X and Fang C 2024 Nat. Commun. 15 10203
[63] Guo P J, Wei Y W, Liu K, Liu Z X and Lu Z Y 2021 Phys. Rev. Lett. 127 176401
[64] Thouless D J, Kohmoto M, Nightingale M P and den Nijs M 1982 Phys. Rev. Lett. 49 405
[65] Kohmoto M 1985 Ann. Phys. (N.Y.) 160 343
[66] Chang M C and Niu Q 1996 Phys. Rev. B 53 7010
[67] Yao Y, Kleinman L, MacDonald A H, Sinova J, Jungwirth T, Wang D S, Wang E and Niu Q 2004 Phys. Rev. Lett. 92 037204
[68] Fisher D S and Lee P A 1981 Phys. Rev. B 23 6851
[69] Metalidis G and Bruno P 2005 Phys. Rev. B 72 235304
[70] Sun Q F and Xie X C 2009 J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 21 344204
[71] Lee D H and Joannopoulos J D 1981 Phys. Rev. B 23 4997
[72] Krempasky J, Smejkal L, D’Souza S W, Hajlaoui M, Springholz G, Uhlírova K, Alarab F, Constantinou P C, Strocov V N, Usanov D, Pudelko W R, Gonzalez-Hern andez R, Hellenes A B, Jansa Z, Re- ichlova H, Sob án Z, Gonzalez Betancourt R D, Wadley P, Sinova J, Kriegner D, Minar J, Dil J H and Jungwirth T 2024 Nature 626 517
[73] Reimers S, Odenbreit L, Smejkal L, Strocov V N, Constantinou P, Hel- lenes A B, Ubiergo R J, Campos W H, Bharadwaj V K, Chakraborty A, Denneulin T, Shi W, Dunin-Borkowski R E, Das S, Klaui M, Sinova J and Jourdan M 2024 Nat. Commun. 15 2116
[74] Fedchenko O, Minar J, Akashdeep A, D’Souza S W, Vasilyev D, Tkach O, Odenbreit L, Nguyen Q, Kutnyakhov D, Wind N, Wenthaus L, Scholz M, Rossnagel K, Hoesch M, Aeschlimann M, Stadtmuller B, Klaui M, Sch onhense G, Jungwirth T, Hellenes A B, Jakob G, Smejkal L, Sinova J and Elmers H J 2024 Sci. Adv. 10 eadj4883
[75] Yang G, Li Z, Yang S, Li J, Zheng H, Zhu W, Pan Z, Xu Y, Cao S, Zhao W, Jana A, Zhang J, Ye M, Song Y, Hu L H, Yang L, Fujii J, Vobornik I, Shi M, Yuan H, Zhang Y, Xu Y and Liu Y 2025 Nat. Commun. 16 1442
[76] Zhou Z, Cheng X, Hu M, Chu R, Bai H, Han L, Liu J, Pan F and Song C 2025 Nature 638 645
[77] Noh S, Kim G H, Lee J, Jung H, Seo U, So G, Lee J, Lee S, Park M, Yang S, Oh Y, Jin H, Sohn C and Yoo J W 2025 Phys. Rev. Lett. 134 246703
[78] Leiviska M, Rial J, Bad’ura A, Seeger R L, Kouta I, Beckert S, Krieg- ner D, Joumard I, Schmoranzerova E, Sinova J, Gomonay O, Thomas A, Goennenwein S T B, Reichlova H, Smejkal L, Michez L, Jungwirth T and Baltz V 2024 Phys. Rev. B 109 224430
[79] Zhang Y, Bai H, Dai J, Han L, Chen C, Liang S, Cao Y, Zhang Y, Wang Q, Zhu W, Pan F and Song C 2025 Nat. Commun. 16 5646
[80] Chen Y, Liu X, Lu H Z and Xie X C 2025 Phys. Rev. Lett. 135 016701
[1] Electrodynamics of a prototypical altermagnetic compound MnTe
Bixia Gao(高碧霞), Yixuan Luo(罗伊轩), Liye Cao(曹立叶), Tao Sun(孙涛), Zehao Yu(于泽浩), Lei Wang(王蕾), Xinyu Zhang(张新雨), Hongbo Hu(胡宏波), Yanfeng Guo(郭艳峰), and Rongyan Chen(陈荣艳). Chin. Phys. B, 2026, 35(3): 037801.
[2] Quantum anomalous Hall effect in twisted bilayer graphene
Wen-Xiao Wang(王文晓), Yi-Wen Liu(刘亦文), and Lin He(何林). Chin. Phys. B, 2025, 34(4): 047301.
[3] Alternating spin splitting of electronic and magnon bands in two-dimensional altermagnetic materials
Qian Wang(王乾), Da-Wei Wu(邬大为), Guang-Hua Guo(郭光华), Meng-Qiu Long(龙孟秋), and Yun-Peng Wang(王云鹏). Chin. Phys. B, 2024, 33(9): 097507.
[4] Intrinsic valley-polarized quantum anomalous Hall effect in a two-dimensional germanene/MnI2 van der Waals heterostructure
Xiao-Jing Dong(董晓晶) and Chang-Wen Zhang(张昌文). Chin. Phys. B, 2024, 33(7): 077303.
[5] Spin direction dependent quantum anomalous Hall effect in two-dimensional ferromagnetic materials
Yu-Xian Yang(杨宇贤) and Chang-Wen Zhang(张昌文). Chin. Phys. B, 2024, 33(4): 047101.
[6] Electronic property and topological phase transition in a graphene/CoBr2 heterostructure
Yuan-Xiu Qin(秦元秀), Sheng-Shi Li(李胜世), Wei-Xiao Ji(纪维霄), and Chang-Wen Zhang(张昌文). Chin. Phys. B, 2024, 33(2): 027901.
[7] Magnetic and electronic properties of bulk and two-dimensional FeBi2Te4: A first-principles study
Qianqian Wang(王倩倩), Jianzhou Zhao(赵建洲), Weikang Wu(吴维康), Yinning Zhou(周胤宁), Qile Li, Mark T. Edmonds, and Shengyuan A. Yang(杨声远). Chin. Phys. B, 2023, 32(8): 087506.
[8] First-principles prediction of quantum anomalous Hall effect in two-dimensional Co2Te lattice
Yuan-Shuo Liu(刘元硕), Hao Sun(孙浩), Chun-Sheng Hu(胡春生), Yun-Jing Wu(仵允京), and Chang-Wen Zhang(张昌文). Chin. Phys. B, 2023, 32(2): 027101.
[9] Low-damage photolithography for magnetically doped (Bi,Sb)2Te3 quantum anomalous Hall thin films
Zhiting Gao(高志廷), Minghua Guo(郭明华), Zichen Lian(连梓臣), Yaoxin Li(李耀鑫), Yunhe Bai(白云鹤), Xiao Feng(冯硝), Ke He(何珂), Yayu Wang(王亚愚), Chang Liu(刘畅), and Jinsong Zhang(张金松). Chin. Phys. B, 2023, 32(11): 117303.
[10] Current carrying states in the disordered quantum anomalous Hall effect
Yi-Ming Dai(戴镒明), Si-Si Wang(王思思), Yan Yu(禹言), Ji-Huan Guan(关济寰), Hui-Hui Wang(王慧慧), and Yan-Yang Zhang(张艳阳). Chin. Phys. B, 2022, 31(9): 097302.
[11] Manipulation of intrinsic quantum anomalous Hall effect in two-dimensional MoYN2CSCl MXene
Yezhu Lv(吕叶竹), Peiji Wang(王培吉), and Changwen Zhang(张昌文). Chin. Phys. B, 2022, 31(12): 127303.
[12] Prediction of quantum anomalous Hall effect in CrI3/ScCl2 bilayer heterostructure
Yuan Gao(高源), Huiping Li(李慧平), and Wenguang Zhu(朱文光). Chin. Phys. B, 2022, 31(10): 107304.
[13] Quantum anomalous Hall effect in twisted bilayer graphene quasicrystal
Zedong Li(李泽东) and Z F Wang(王征飞)†. Chin. Phys. B, 2020, 29(10): 107101.
[14] AlOx/LiF composite protection layer for Cr-doped (Bi, Sb)2Te3 quantum anomalous Hall films
Yunbo Ou(欧云波), Yang Feng(冯洋), Xiao Feng(冯硝), Zhenqi Hao(郝镇齐), Liguo Zhang(张立果), Chang Liu(刘畅), Yayu Wang(王亚愚), Ke He(何珂), Xucun Ma(马旭村), Qikun Xue(薛其坤). Chin. Phys. B, 2016, 25(8): 087307.
[15] Quantum anomalous Hall effect in real materials
Jiayong Zhang(张加永), Bao Zhao(赵宝), Tong Zhou(周通), Zhongqin Yang(杨中芹). Chin. Phys. B, 2016, 25(11): 117308.
No Suggested Reading articles found!