Topological magnetic phase in LaMnO3 (111) bilayer

Candidates for correlated topological insulators, originated from the spin-orbit coupling as well as the Hubbard-type correlation, are expected in the (111) bilayer of perovskite-structural transition-metal oxides. Based on the first-principles calculation and tight-binding model, the electronic structure of a LaMnO3 (111) bilayer sandwiched in LaScO3 barriers has been investigated. For the ideal undistorted perovskite structure, the Fermi energy of LaMnO3 (111) bilayer just stays at the Dirac point, rendering a semimetal (graphenelike) which is also a half metal [different from graphene or the previously studied LaNiO3 (111) bilayer]. The Dirac cone can be opened by the spin-orbit coupling, giving rise to nontrivial topological bands corresponding to the (quantized) anomalous Hall effect. For the realistic orthorhombic distorted lattice, the Dirac point moves with increasing Hubbard repulsion (or equivalent Jahn-Teller distortion). Finally, a Mott gap opens, establishing a phase boundary between the Mott insulator and topological magnetic insulator. Our calculation finds that the gap opened by spin-orbit coupling is much smaller in the orthorhombic distorted lattice (∼1.7 meV) than the undistorted one (∼11 meV). Therefore, to suppress the lattice distortion can be helpful to enhance the robustness of the topological phase in perovskite (111) bilayers.