Microscopic theory of Chern polarization via crystalline defect charge
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Gunawardana, Thivan M
Schindler, Frank
Turner, Ari M
Barnett, Ryan
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The modern theory of polarization does not apply in its original form to systems with non-trivial band topology. Chern insulators are one such example. Defining polarization for them is complicated because they are insulating in the bulk but exhibit metallic edge states. Wannier functions formed a key ingredient of the original modern theory of polarization, but it has been considered that these cannot be applied to Chern insulators since they are no longer exponentially localized and the Wannier center, obtained from the Zak phase, is no longer gauge invariant. In this article, we provide an unambiguous definition of absolute polarization for a Chern insulator in terms of the Zak phase. We obtain our expression by studying the non-quantized fractional charge bound to lattice dislocations. Our expression can be computed directly from bulk quantities and makes no assumption on the edge state filling. It is fully consistent with previous results on the quantized charge bound to dislocations in the presence of crystalline symmetry. At the same time, our result is more general since it also applies to Chern insulators which do not have crystalline symmetries other than translations.
Date Issued
2026-06-19
Date Acceptance
2026-05-14
Citation
Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, 2026, 38
ISSN
0953-8984
Publisher
IOP Publishing
Journal / Book Title
Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter
Volume
38
Copyright Statement
© 2026 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/42134404
Subjects
Chern insulators
Electrical polarization
Wannier functions
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England
Article Number
245602
Date Publish Online
2026-06-15