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Ferroelectric Altermagnetic Chern Insulator in magnetic field: electrical control of the Chern number
Meysam Bagheri Tagani ID 1, 2, ∗ and Carmine Autieri ID 1, †
1 International Research Centre Magtop, Institute of Physics,
arXiv:2606.11862v1 [cond-mat.mes-hall] 10 Jun 2026
Polish Academy of Sciences, Aleja Lotników 32/46, PL-02668 Warsaw, Poland 2 Department of Physics, University of Guilan, P. O. Box 41335-1914, Rasht, Iran
Department of Physics, University of Guilan, P. O. Box 41335-1914, Rasht, Iran
(Dated: June 11, 2026)
The quantum anomalous Hall effect in altermagnets is difficult to realize because spin-up and
spin-down states remain degenerate at the Γ point in the nonrelativistic limit. We start from the
Bernevig–Hughes–Zhang model to incorporate nontrivial band topology. We demonstrate that the
combined effects of an external magnetic field, spin canting, and ferroelectric orbital hybridization
lift the degeneracy at the Γ point, enabling electric-field control of the Chern number. A minimal
two-dimensional d -wave altermagnetic model with band inversion then realizes a ferroelectrically
tunable Chern insulator with spontaneous spin canting. The ferroelectric polarization controls the
topological phase and the orbital angular momentum, enabling a rich phase diagram with C = ± 1
and C = ± 2 through a Berry-curvature reorganization linked to the spin canting response and
ferroelectricity. Our results establish a symmetry-consistent route to electrically tunable Chern
insulating phases in altermagnetic materials, opening opportunities for low-power topological and
orbitronic devices.
I. INTRODUCTION
The realization of dissipationless edge transport re-
mains a central objective in condensed matter physics,
which can be useful for metrology applications 1 . Since
the theoretical proposal and experimental observation of
the quantum anomalous Hall effect (QAHE), Chern in-
sulating phases have been predominantly associated with
ferromagnets 2 –7 . However, the QAHE in ferromagnets
was observed only at very low temperatures so far 8 .
The altermagnetism has emerged as a magnetic phase
characterized by zero net magnetization in the non-
relativistic limit and momentum-dependent spin split-
ting protected by rotational symmetry. 9 –18 Spi-orbital ef-
fects as relativistic spin-momentum locking 1 9 and orbital
magnetization 2 0 has been shown to play an important
role in altermagnets, where the relevance of the orbital
angular momentum was supported by recent experimen-
tal observations 2 1 . The altermagnetism has stimulated
intense interest in their transport and topological re-
sponses. In particular, altermagnets provide a promising
route toward realizing Chern insulating phases without
large macroscopic magnetization. Nevertheless, a fun-
damental obstacle persists. In altermagnets, the spin-up
and spin-down states remain degenerate at the Γ point in
the nonrelativistic limit. This degeneracy obstructs the
opening of a full topological gap required for the QAHE.
Previous strategies to overcome this limitation relied on
explicitly breaking rotational symmetry, thereby render-
ing magnetic sublattices inequivalent and driving the sys-
tem into a ferrimagnetic phase. The rotational symmetry
was broken by uniaxial strain 2 2–24 , by ferrimagnetism on
the surface 2 5,26 , by stacking fault 2 7 , or by an external
magnetic field 2 8,29 . In other materials with zero magne-
tization, the Chern insulating phase has been predicted
in two-dimensional magnets with mirror symmetry 3 0 and
in noncollinear magnets on a kagome lattice 3 1 . The ma-
nipulation of the quantum anomalous Hall effect via fer-
roelectricity has been widely investigated primarily in
MnBi 2 T e 4 , where time-reversal symmetry can be broken
in different ways 2 7,32–35 , whereas the corresponding phe-
nomenon in altermagnets has received considerably less
attention.
Among other topological effects in altermagnets or in
system based on altermagnets, we can mention the quan-
tum spin Hall 3 6,37 , the quantization of the spin circu-
lar photogalvanic effect 3 8 , the topological piezomagnetic
effect 3 9 , the layer Hall effect 4 0 , axion insulator 4 1 , almost
half-quantized planar Hall effects 4 2,43 , and higher-order
topology with corner states 4 4,45 .
In this work, we demonstrate that the interplay among
the external magnetic field, ferroelectricity, and spin
canting can lift the Γ-point degeneracy, yielding a rich
phase diagram with Chern insulating phases. Specifi-
cally, we construct and analyze a two-dimensional d -wave
altermagnetic model coupled to a ferroelectric order pa-
rameter. The resulting phase is a ferroelectric Chern in-
sulator that exhibits a fully gapped bulk spectrum and
quantized Hall conductivity in the absence of any exter-
nal magnetic field. Crucially, the ferroelectric polariza-
tion acts as an electrically tunable control parameter be-
tween different topological phases C = ± 1 and C = ± 2;
the system therefore realizes an electrically switchable
topological phase based on altermagnets.
II. MODEL AND SYMMETRY ANALYSIS
To capture the essential interplay among altermag-
netism, ferroelectricity, and weak ferromagnetism, we
construct the minimal symmetry-allowed Hamiltonian
for a two-orbital system on a square lattice. The model
acts using the Pauli matrices in the tensor-product space
of an orbital (or sublattice) pseudospin τ and the physi-
2
cal spin s , and is written as
H ( k ) = H 0 ( k ) + H A M ( k ) + H C AN + H F E + H R ( k ) . (1)
Each term is constrained by the crystalline symmetries
of the square lattice and by the microscopic mechanisms
relevant to ferroelectric altermagnets.
The baseline Hamiltonian
H 0 ( k ) = [ M 0 − 2 B (2 − cos k x − cos k y )] τ z ⊗ s 0
+ A sin k x τ x ⊗ s 0 + A sin k y τ y ⊗ s 0 (2)
is the standard two-band Dirac (BHZ-type) model 4 6,47 .
It preserves time-reversal symmetry ( T ), inversion ( P ),
and fourfold rotation ( C 4 ) , and provides the Dirac mass
and orbital structure on which symmetry-breaking per-
turbations act. At the Γ point, we have one site with
+M 0 and another site with -M 0 , which, with opposite
spins on the two sites, means that M 0 behaves as an ex-
ternal magnetic field.
Altermagnetism is introduced through the momentum-
dependent spin splitting
H A M ( k ) = ∆ d (cos k x − cos k y ) τ z ⊗ s z . (3)
This term has a d x 2 −y 2 form factor that changes sign un-
der C 4 rotation, while the spin structure changes sign un-
der time reversal. As a result, the combined antiunitary
operation C 4 T remains a symmetry of the altermagnetic
sector, but it is broken by the external magnetic field M 0 .
To introduce spin canting for the S x component, we
include
H C AN = m C AN τ z ⊗ s x . (4)
This term breaks time-reversal symmetry and spin-
rotation symmetry, while preserving lattice translational
symmetry. In the orbital basis chosen here, it does not
generate a net uniform magnetization due to the stag-
gered τ z structure. However, it reduces the symmetry of
the pure altermagnetic sector and, in general, does not
preserve the C 4 T symmetry.
Ferroelectricity is modeled by the Peierls dimerization
H F E = P p olar τ x ⊗ s 0 . (5)
The interplay between this Peierls dimerization and the
magnetic field M 0 term breaks inversion symmetry ( P )
by mixing the two orbital sectors. Its behavior under C 4
depends on the orbital representation and is generally
symmetry-breaking once ferroelectric order is present.
Importantly, H F E enables coupling between the alter-
magnetic spin texture and band-resolved spin polariza-
tion through orbital hybridization. Finally, we include
the Rashba spin–orbit coupling,
H R ( k ) = λ R [sin k y τ 0 ⊗ s x − sin k x τ 0 ⊗ s y ] . (6)
The Rashba term arises once inversion symmetry is bro-
ken by H F E . These SOC terms do not modify the al-
termagnetic origin of the spin splitting but contribute to
spin texture reconstruction and band topology.
In summary, Eq. (1) defines a minimal model in
which the pure altermagnetic sector H 0 + H A M preserves
the combined C 4 T symmetry, while ferroelectric and
spin canting perturbations act as controlled symmetry-
breaking fields that modify the spin–orbital entangle-
ment. The full Hamiltonian, therefore, does not retain
all symmetries of the altermagnetic limit, but continu-
ously connects the altermagnetic phase to regimes with
ferroelectric control and spin canting.
III. RESULTS
The spectrum of the minimal 4 × 4 Hamiltonian de-
scribing a ferroelectric altermagnet can be obtained an-
alytically in the absence of spin–orbit coupling. In this
limit, the Hamiltonian contains four essential ingredients:
the BHZ Dirac term, the d x 2 −y 2 altermagnetic spin split-
ting, a weak-ferromagnetic canting field, and a ferroelec-
tric orbital-mixing term. Introducing
M k = M 0 − 2 B (2 − cos k x − cos k y ) , (7)
f k = cos k x − cos k y , (8)
and defining the orbital and spin vectors
a ( k ) = A sin k x + P p olar , A sin k y , M k , (9)
b ( k ) = m C AN , 0 , ∆ d f k , (10)
the Hamiltonian can be written compactly as
H ( k ) = τ · a ( k ) + τ z s · b ( k ) , (11)
with τ = ( τ x , τ y , τ z ) and s = ( s x , s y , s z ). The ferro-
electric polarization enters exclusively through the shift
P p olar of the τ x component, reflecting inversion-breaking
hybridization between the two orbitals.
Analytic spectrum. — Squaring the Hamiltonian and us-
ing the Pauli algebra yields
H 2 ( k ) = | a ( k ) | 2 + | b ( k ) | 2 + 2 a z ( k ) s · b ( k ) , (12)
where a z ( k ) = M k and | b ( k ) | = m 2 C AN + ∆ 2 d f 2 k . Since
s · b has eigenvalues σ| b | with σ = ± 1, the four energy
bands are
E σ ,± ( k ) = ± A sin k x + P p olar 2 + A 2 sin 2 k y + M k + σ m 2 C AN + ∆ 2 d ( cos k x − cos k y ) 2 2 , σ = ± 1 . (13)
3
This expression makes explicit how the three
symmetry-breaking ingredients reshape the Dirac spec-
trum. The quantity in square brackets defines a spin-
dependent effective mass,
m σ ( k ) = M k + σ m 2 CAN + ∆ 2 d f 2 k , (14)
while the ferroelectric polarization modifies the kinetic
term through the shift A sin k x → A sin k x + P p olar . Im-
portantly, P p olar does not directly enter the mass term,
but instead displaces the Dirac cone and alters the gap
structure indirectly.
Altermagnetic limit. — In the purely altermagnetic case
m C AN = P p olar = 0, the spin splitting is governed solely
by the d x 2 −y 2 form factor f k , which vanishes at the Γ and
M points but is maximal and of opposite sign at X and
Y . Consequently, the spectrum remains spin-degenerate
at Γ,
E ↑ ,± ( Γ) = E ↓ ,± ( Γ) = ±|M 0 | , (15)
while the two spin sectors acquire opposite mass shifts at
X and Y . Each spin block, therefore, realizes a Qi–Wu–
Zhang Hamiltonian with a spin-dependent Dirac mass,
but the two blocks remain symmetry-related and con-
tribute identical Chern numbers. As a result, the total
Chern number is always an even integer, taking the val-
ues C t ot = 0 or C t ot = ± 2 depending on the ordering of
the TRIM masses, see section I of SI for more informa-
tion. Role of spin canting. — A finite weak–ferromagnetic com-
ponent m C AN qualitatively changes the topological struc-
ture of the altermagnetic BHZ model. At the Γ point,
where f Γ = 0 and M Γ = M 0 , the two hybridized Dirac
cones acquire masses
m ± ( Γ) = M 0 ± m C AN , E ± ( Γ) = ±|M 0 ± m C AN | . (16)
Thus, the spin degeneracy of the altermagnetic limit is
lifted uniformly, and the two cones undergo band inver-
sion at different values of M 0 . Physically, weak ferromag-
netism converts the purely momentum-dependent alter-
magnetic splitting into a net topological imbalance be-
tween the two hybridized cones. Each cone then carries
an independent Chern number C ± = 0 , ± 1, so that the
total Chern number C = C + + C − can take the values
0 , ± 1 , ± 2. This mechanism produces intermediate phases
with |C| = 1 that have no analogue in either the pristine
BHZ model or the altermagnetic case, see section I of SI
for more information, and enables a sequence of topolog-
ical transitions C = 0 → ± 1 → ± 2 (and the reverse) as
M 0 is tuned.
Role of ferroelectricity. — Ferroelectricity enters the
Hamiltonian through the inversion-breaking orbital hy-
bridization H F E = P p olar τ x , which shifts the Dirac dis-
persion as A sin k x → A sin k x + P p olar . Although this
term does not modify the Dirac mass directly, it re-
shapes the spectrum in two essential ways. First, the
(a) (b)
(c) (d)
FIG. 1. Band structures along high-symmetry lines for
A = 1, B = 0 . 4, and M 0 = 0 . 05, with color indicating
the spin projection ⟨s z ⟩ . (a) Pristine BHZ model, showing
fully spin-degenerate bands. (b) Inclusion of altermagnetism
(∆ d = 0 . 5), which induces momentum-dependent spin split-
ting while preserving degeneracy at Γ. (c) Addition of spin
canting ( m C AN = 0 . 1), lifting the Γ-point degeneracy and
producing inequivalent Dirac masses. (d) Spin texture of the
highest occupied band for the parameters in (c), showing a
d -wave pattern in S z together with a uniform S x component.
shift of the kinetic term generally enlarges the direct
gap at Γ, stabilizing the insulating phase. Second, by
mixing the two orbital sectors, ferroelectricity makes
the weak-ferromagnetic canting m C AN τ z s x visible in the
band structure, thereby enabling the magnetic and alter-
magnetic contributions to combine into a tunable topo-
logical mass.
In the absence of ferroelectricity, the gap closes only at
the TRIM, where the effective masses m ± ( k ) determine
the Chern numbers of the two hybridized Dirac cones. A
finite P p olar displaces the band extrema away from these
high-symmetry points, but the topological transitions re-
main governed by the zeros of m ± ( k ) as long as the gap
closes near the TRIM. Thus, ferroelectricity does not
shift the mass-inversion boundaries in the small- P p olar
regime; instead, it modifies the dispersion anisotropically
and redistributes Berry curvature in momentum space.
The combined action of the three symmetry-breaking
fields can therefore be summarized succinctly. The al-
termagnetic term ∆ d ( cos k x − cos k y ) imposes a d -wave
pattern of spin splitting and determines where band in-
versions occur. Weak ferromagnetism introduces a uni-
form component that separates the two hybridized Dirac
masses, allowing them to invert at distinct values of M 0
and producing intermediate phases with |C| = 1. Ferro-
electricity activates the orbital mixing required for this
canting to manifest spectrally and provides an efficient
electric knob to stabilize and tune the resulting Chern-
insulating phases. Together, these ingredients yield a
minimal and symmetry-consistent route to electrically
controllable topological order emerging from a collinear
altermagnet.
Figure 1 illustrates how altermagnetism and spin cant-
ing progressively reshape the Dirac spectrum and spin
structure of the minimal model. In the pristine BHZ
4
(a) (b)
(c) (d) (e)
FIG. 2. Topological phase diagram and Berry curvature of
the altermagnetic Chern insulator. (a) Total Chern number
C as a function of the band-inversion parameter M 0 and the
altermagnetic gap ∆ d for m C AN = 0. Only even Chern phases
( C = 0 , ± 2) are realized due to spin degeneracy. (b) Phase
diagram for finite spin canting ( m C AN = 0 . 1), where spin mix-
ing splits the Dirac masses at Γ and stabilizes an intermediate
|C| = 1 phase within |M 0 | < m C AN . (c)–(e) Berry curvature
Ω z ( k ) for representative phases with (c) C = 0, (d) C = 1,
and (e) C = 2. Weak ferromagnetism generates a single dom-
inant Berry-curvature hotspot in the C = 1 phase, whereas
the C = 2 phase exhibits two symmetry-related contributions.
Parameters are the same as in Fig. 1.
limit [Fig. 1(a)], the two spin sectors are exactly degen-
erate throughout the Brillouin zone, including at the Γ
point, where the gap is controlled by the Dirac mass M 0 .
For A = 1, B = 0 . 4, and M 0 = 0 . 05, each spin block
carries C B HZ = 1, yielding a total Chern number C = 2,
consistent with the doubly degenerate chiral edge modes
of the standard BHZ phase.
Upon introducing altermagnetism [Fig. 1(b)], the
d x 2 −y 2 form factor generates a pronounced momentum-
dependent spin splitting, most visible along the X – Y di-
rection, while vanishing at Γ. As a result, the spectrum
remains spin-degenerate at Γ and the two spin blocks
stay decoupled and topologically equivalent. For the pa-
rameters shown, the total Chern number remains C = 2,
in agreement with the analytic BHZ+AM phase diagram
presented in Section I of SI.
A qualitative change occurs when spin canting is in-
cluded [Fig. 1(c)]. The canting term m C AN τ z s x lifts
the degeneracy at Γ and splits the Dirac masses into
m ± ( Γ) = M 0 ± m C AN , so that the two hybridized Dirac
cones undergo band inversion at different values of M 0 .
For m C AN = 0 . 1 and ∆ d = 0 . 5, only one cone remains
inverted, and the total Chern number is reduced from
C = 2 to C = 1, realizing an odd-Chern phase that has
no analogue in either the pristine BHZ or purely alter-
magnetic limits.
The corresponding spin texture of the highest occu-
pied band is shown in Fig. 1(d). The S z component ex-
hibits the characteristic d -wave pattern inherited from
altermagnetism, while a nearly uniform S x component
emerges due to canting, showing a d -wave pattern in S z
together with a uniform S x component.
Figure 2 summarizes how altermagnetism and spin
canting shape the topological phase diagram of the
model. In the absence of spin canting, Fig. 2(a), the two
spin sectors remain exactly degenerate, and only even
Chern numbers C = 0 , ± 2 appear. The altermagnetic
term redistributes the Dirac masses across the Brillouin
zone but leaves the Γ-point degeneracy intact, in agree-
ment with the analytical conditions derived in the Sup-
plemental Information.
A qualitatively new regime emerges once spin canting
is introduced [Fig. 2(b)]. The canting term m C AN τ z s x
lifts the residual degeneracy at Γ and splits the Dirac
masses as m ± ( Γ) = M 0 ± m C AN . The two hybridized
Dirac cones, therefore, invert at different values of M 0 ,
producing an intermediate window |M 0 | < m C AN in
which only one cone is topological. This mechanism sta-
bilizes an odd-Chern phase with |C| = 1, in direct corre-
spondence with the analytical phase boundaries obtained
from the TRIM mass conditions.
The momentum-space origin of these phases is revealed
by the Berry-curvature patterns in Figs. 2(c)–(e). In the
trivial phase ( C = 0), positive and negative contribu-
tions cancel by symmetry. In the C = 1 phase, spin
canting breaks this balance and generates a single dom-
inant hotspot near Γ, yielding a net Berry flux of one
quantum. In contrast, the C = 2 phase exhibits two
symmetry-related hotspots, each contributing approxi-
mately one quantum of Berry curvature, consistent with
two effectively decoupled Dirac cones.
Together, these results demonstrate that altermag-
netism controls the momentum structure of the Dirac
masses, while spin canting lifts their degeneracy and se-
lects a single topological channel, thereby enabling robust
odd-Chern phases that are absent in both the pristine
BHZ and purely altermagnetic limits.
Figure 3 demonstrates how ferroelectricity provides an
efficient and symmetry-consistent route to electrically
reconstruct both the topology and geometric responses
of an altermagnetic Chern insulator. In the inversion-
symmetric limit ( P p olar = 0), all gap closings remain
pinned to the time-reversal-invariant momenta, and the
two hybridized Dirac cones invert only when their Γ-point
masses m ± ( Γ) = M 0 ± m C AN change sign. As a result,
the odd-Chern sector is restricted to the narrow window
|M 0 | < m C AN , and the phase diagram is governed en-
tirely by TRIM band inversions.
Ferroelectricity qualitatively alters this mechanism.
The inversion-odd hybridization H F E = P p olar τ x shifts
the gap-closing momenta away from the TRIM, relocat-
ing the Dirac criticality to finite wave vectors. At these
displaced points the altermagnetic form factor f k be-
comes finite, causing the two hybridized Dirac masses
to renormalize differently. Their inversion boundaries,
therefore, separate in parameter space, substantially en-
larging the region in which only a single cone is inverted.
As shown in Fig. 3(a), this momentum-space splitting
stabilizes broad odd-Chern sectors that extend far be-
5
(b)
σ x y = 1 e 2 /h
σ x y = 2 e 2 /h
σ x y = 0 e 2 /h
(a)
(c) (d)
FIG. 3. Ferroelectric control of topology and geometric
responses in an altermagnetic Chern insulator. (a) Chern-
number map as a function of the band-inversion parame-
ter M 0 and ferroelectric polarization P p olar . The inversion-
odd hybridization shifts the Dirac criticality to finite mo-
mentum, separates the inversion boundaries of the two hy-
bridized cones, and substantially widens the odd-Chern re-
gion ( |C| = 1), in agreement with the analytic P 4 p olar scaling
derived in the Supplemental Information. (b) Ribbon spectra
for representative C = 0, C = 1, and C = 2 phases, showing
the corresponding one or two chiral edge channels. (c) Orbital
magnetization M z versus P p olar for several Rashba couplings
λ R . In the inversion-symmetric limit ( P p olar = 0), an an-
tiunitary symmetry enforces M z = 0, while ferroelectrically
induced Rashba coupling generates a finite, even-in- P p olar or-
bital response. (d) Anomalous Hall conductivity σ x y as a
function of P p olar for different λ R , illustrating Rashba-driven
shifts of the ferroelectric phase boundaries and the resulting
reconstruction of quantized Hall plateaus. Together, the pan-
els demonstrate that ferroelectricity provides an efficient elec-
trical knob for tuning Dirac criticality, stabilizing odd-Chern
phases, and activating geometric responses in altermagnetic
Chern insulators.
yond the weak-ferromagnetic scale. The analytic expan-
sion derived in the Supplemental Information shows that
the width of the |C| = 1 phase acquires a positive correc-
tion proportional to P 4 p olar , demonstrating that ferroelec-
tricity reshapes the topology not by reversing the Dirac
mass, but by shifting the location of the topological crit-
ical points in the momentum space.
The bulk-boundary correspondence is confirmed by the
ribbon spectra in Fig. 3(b). In the C = 1 phase, a single
chiral edge channel traverses the gap, whereas the C = 2
regime hosts two co-propagating modes, reflecting the
inversion of both hybridized Dirac cones. Although the
ferroelectric shift displaces the Dirac points and partially
overlaps the edge dispersions, the multiplicity of the chi-
ral channels remains clearly resolved, providing a direct
spectroscopic signature of the ferroelectrically stabilized
odd-Chern phase.
Ferroelectricity also activates geometric responses that
are forbidden in the inversion-symmetric limit. At
P p olar = 0, an antiunitary symmetry enforces an exact
FIG. 4. Schematic illustration of electrically controlled or-
bital and topological responses in a ferroelectric altermagnetic
Chern insulator. In the nonpolar state ( P p olar = 0), alter-
magnetic orbital currents cancel and the orbital magnetiza-
tion vanishes. Applying a ferroelectric polarization activates
Rashba spin–orbit coupling, reconstructs the Berry curvature
near the hybridized Dirac crossings, and generates finite cir-
culating orbital currents and electrically tunable orbital mag-
netization together with chiral edge transport.
cancellation of the orbital-magnetization kernel, yield-
ing M z = 0 despite finite Berry curvature and nontriv-
ial Chern bands. Once ferroelectricity induces a Rashba
field, this cancellation is lifted and a finite orbital magne-
tization emerges. Figure 3(c) shows that M z ( P p olar ) is an
even function of polarization and grows rapidly with the
Rashba strength, reflecting a redistribution of Berry cur-
vature near avoided crossings of the altermagnetic bands.
This mechanism is intrinsically geometric: it converts the
altermagnetic spin texture into circulating orbital cur-
rents through inversion-odd relativistic coupling, rather
than through conventional spin polarization. Additional
information about the effect of ferroelectricity on topol-
ogy and orbital magnetization is presented in Sections III
and IV of the Supplementary Information.
The anomalous Hall conductivity in Fig. 3(d) exhibits
a similar ferroelectric reconstruction. Even at λ R = 0,
a quantized Hall response persists due to the broken
time-reversal symmetry of the weak-ferromagnetic state.
Increasing the Rashba coupling shifts the ferroelectric
phase boundaries and reorganizes the Berry curvature
weight, producing a strongly polarization-dependent pro-
file of σ x y while preserving its quantized plateaus in the
insulating regions. Together, these results establish fer-
roelectric altermagnets as a platform in which electric
polarization controls not only the topological phase di-
agram but also the geometric responses associated with
Berry curvature and orbital magnetism.
To summarize the physical picture emerging from our
results, Fig. 4 presents a schematic illustration of the fer-
roelectric altermagnetic device proposed in this work. In
the nonpolar state ( P p olar = 0), the system hosts alter-
magnetic spin textures and topological edge transport,
6
but the residual symmetry of the Hamiltonian forces
the momentum-space orbital currents to cancel, yielding
zero orbital magnetization. Applying an external elec-
tric field switches the ferroelectric polarization and si-
multaneously activates inversion-odd Rashba spin–orbit
coupling. This ferroelectrically induced Rashba interac-
tion reconstructs the Berry curvature near the hybridized
Dirac crossings, converts the altermagnetic spin texture
into circulating orbital currents, and generates a finite,
electrically tunable orbital magnetization. At the same
time, the displacement of the Dirac criticality away from
the time-reversal-invariant momenta reshapes the topo-
logical phase boundaries and controls the multiplicity of
chiral edge channels.
This mechanism provides a direct route for electric-
field manipulation of both orbital and topological re-
sponses in altermagnetic Chern insulators. Unlike con-
ventional quantum anomalous Hall platforms, where
magnetism and orbital effects arise from uniform ferro-
magnetism, the present system exploits the cooperative
interplay among altermagnetism, spin canting, ferroelec-
tricity, and inversion-odd spin–orbit coupling. Our re-
sults, therefore, identify ferroelectric altermagnets as a
promising materials platform for electrically switchable
orbitronics, nonvolatile topological devices, and multi-
functional quantum transport controlled by ferroelectric
polarization.
From an experimental perspective, the proposed mech-
anism may be relevant to emerging altermagnetic materi-
als integrated with ferroelectric environments. In partic-
ular, altermagnetic thin films, magnetic quantum wells,
and van der Waals heterostructures placed on ferroelec-
tric substrates provide natural settings where inversion
symmetry can be broken and Rashba spin–orbit coupling
can be engineered. The additional spin canting required
by our model may arise from external magnetic fields
or intrinsic relativistic interactions, suggesting feasible
routes toward realizing electrically tunable altermagnetic
Chern phases.
IV. CONCLUSIONS
We demonstrate that the quantum anomalous Hall ef-
fect can be realized in a two-dimensional d -wave alter-
magnet under an applied magnetic field based on the
BHZ model. By incorporating ferroelectricity and ex-
ploiting its coupling to spin canting, the ferroelectric
polarization provides a deterministic and reversible tun-
ing parameter for topological phase transitions between
states with Chern numbers C = ± 1 and C = ± 2. By
switching the polarization, the total Chern number can
be controlled, enabling electric-field tunability of chiral
edge transport.
A notable consequence of the ferroelectric altermag-
netic Chern-insulator phase is the emergence of a siz-
able and electrically tunable orbital magnetization. We
showed that the orbital magnetization is highly sensi-
tive to the topological phase transitions driven by spin
canting and Rashba coupling, displaying characteristic
changes associated with Berry-curvature redistribution
in momentum space. Because both the Chern number
and orbital magnetization can be controlled through fer-
roelectric polarization, our results reveal a route toward
electric-field manipulation of orbital magnetic properties
in topological altermagnets. These findings identify or-
bital magnetization not only as a diagnostic of the under-
lying topological state but also as a functional degree of
freedom for future orbitronic and topological-electronic
applications.
Our findings uncover a route to stabilizing Chern in-
sulating phases in altermagnetic systems and establish a
direct link between ferroelectric order, spin canting, and
Berry-curvature engineering. This interplay provides a
viable platform for electrically programmable topological
phases and low-power quantum devices that operate
without external magnetic fields. Moreover, given the
rapidly expanding materials landscape of altermagnets
and their potentially robust exchange energy scales, the
QAHE in altermagnetic systems may be achievable at
temperatures higher than those realized in conventional
ferromagnetic Chern insulators.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
M.B.T. acknowledges the funding support by Nar-
odowa Agencja Wymiany Akademickiej (NAWA)
under the ULAM program with project number
BPN/ULM/2025/1/00156/U/00001. M.B.T. acknowl-
edges the funding support by Iran National Science
Foundation (INSF) under project No.4043973. This
research was supported by the Foundation for Polish
Science project “MagTop” no. FENG.02.01-IP.05-
0028/23 co-financed by the European Union from the
funds of Priority 2 of the European Funds for a Smart
Economy Program 2021–2027 (FENG). We acknowledge
the access to the computing facilities of the Poznan
Supercomputing and Networking Center, Grant No.
pl0807.
∗ [email protected]
† [email protected]
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