Two-dimensional antiferromagnetic nodal-line semimetal and quantum anomalous Hall state in the van der Waals heterostructure germanene/Mn2S2

Abstract Materials with interactions between the topology and magnetism are triggering increasing interest. We constructed a two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals heterostructure germanene/Mn 2 S 2 , where the germanene is a quantum spin Hall insulator and Mn 2 S 2 provides antiferromagnetic (AFM) interactions. In this structure, a 2D AFM nodal-line semimetal (NLSM) phase is expected without the spin–orbit coupling (SOC), which is of a high density of states around the Fermi level. The band touching rings originate from the intersection between different spin components of p orbitals of germanene. This result provides a possible 2D realization of NLSMs, which are usually realized in three-dimensional systems. When the SOC is present, a quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) state emerges with the annihilation of the band-touching rings. The nontrivial topology is determined by calculating the Chern number and Wannier charge centers. This provides an alternative platform to realize QAH states. These results could also provide the possibility of further understanding the topological states in NLSM and electronic applications.