Quantum anomalous spin Hall phases in time reversal symmetry broken quantum spin Hall system

We propose a time reversal symmetry (TRS) broken tight binding model, being an admixture of Kane-Mele and Haldane model where the intrinsic SOC is coupled with a staggered magnetic flux, to investigate the fate of quantum anomalous Hall insulator (QAHI) and quantum spin Hall insulator (QSHI) phases. We make resort to topological invariant namely, spin Chern number $(\rm{C}_{\uparrow},\rm{C}_{\downarrow})$ to characterize various topological phases. The phase diagram unveils many intriguing features such as, quantum anomalous spin Hall insulator (QASHI) phase, denoted by $(0,\rm{C}_{\downarrow})$ and $(\rm{C}_{\uparrow},0)$, extended critical phase where spin Chern number does not work, multicritical points where three / four topological phase boundaries coalesce and many more in addition to the QSHI phase [$(\rm{C}_{\uparrow},\rm{C}_{\downarrow})$ with $\rm{C}_{\uparrow} \ne \rm{C}_{\downarrow} \ne 0 $] and QAHI phase [$(\rm{C}_{\uparrow} \rm{C}_{\downarrow})$ with $\rm{C}_{\uparrow} = \rm{C}_{\downarrow} \ne 0$]. These topological phases are protected by an effective TRS and a composite anti-unitary particle-hole symmetry leading to remarkable propertis of edge modes. We find spin-selective, spin-polarized and spin-neutral edge transport in QASHI, QSHI and QAHI phases referring to the validity of bulk-boundary correspondence. Our analysis with low energy model gives us the correct understanding of the various topological phases. Moreover, our study further indicates that spin gap plays the key role in determining the robustness of the topological invariant as it does not necessarily vanish at the Dirac points across a topological phase transition. Based on the current experimental advancements in solid state and cold atomic systems, we believe that our proposals can be tested in near future.