The Bulk-Hinge Correspondence and Three-Dimensional Quantum Anomalous Hall Effect in Second Order Topological Insulators

Understand

The chiral hinge modes are the key feature of a second order topological insulator in three dimensions.

• Here we propose a quadrupole index in combination of a slab Chern number in the bulk to characterize the flowing pattern of chiral hinge modes along the hinges at the intersection of the surfaces of a sample.
• We further utilize the topological field theory to demonstrate the correspondent connection of the chiral hinge modes to the quadrupole index and the slab Chern number, and present a picture of three-dimensional quantum anomalous Hall effect as a consequence of chiral hinge modes.
• The two bulk topological invariants can be measured in electric transport and magneto-optical experiments.