Quantum Landau Spin Hall Insulator

Abstract

We study theoretically the two-dimensional topological electric state in a single band semiconductor with strong spin-orbit interactions under harmonic scalar electrostatic potentials. The electronic states described by the spin Landau levels are insulating in the bulk and host gapless edge states in the presence of time-reversal symmetry. Such topological states show the properties of the quantized electric conductivity and the quantized spin Hall conductivity characterized by the spin Chern number $\mathbb{Z}$. The quantization of the two conductivities are robust under various perturbations such as the potential disorder, the Zeeman field, and the spin-orbit scatterings. Existing semiconductor technologies would realize the topological states discussed in the present paper.