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Nonsymmorphic Time-Reversal-Doubled Axion Insulators

Yue Xie1,2, Haohao Sheng1,2, Quansheng Wu1,3, Xi Dai4, Zhong Fang1,3, Hongming Weng1,3,*, and Zhijun Wang1,3,†

  • *Contact author: hmweng@iphy.ac.cn
  • †Contact author: wzj@iphy.ac.cn
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Phys. Rev. X 16, 041017 – Published 15 October, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/jxlt-2slk

Abstract

The axion insulator exhibits a topological magnetoelectric effect characterized by an axion angle θ=π, while the time-reversal-doubled axion insulator (T-DAXI) can be viewed as two copies of an axion insulator related by time-reversal symmetry. In this work, we show that a nonsymmorphic topological crystalline insulator with glide (or screw) symmetry can host the nonsymmorphic T-DAXI phase, diagnosed by the nontrivial hourglass (screw) invariant δh=1 (δs=1). In this phase, the partial axion angles (θ±=π) are quantized by the glide and/or screw symmetry, and the gapped surfaces realize half-quantized quantum spin Hall states. Furthermore, we show that nonsymmorphic T-DAXIs also exhibit the spin-magnetoelectric effect. Namely, an external magnetic field can induce a topological nonlocal spin polarization in real space. When the magnetic field is time periodic, this leads to an alternating spin current detectable in experiment. Using ab initio calculations, we demonstrate that mixed bismuth monohalides Bi4BrxI4−x realize the nonsymmorphic T-DAXI. Our findings not only reveal the symmetry-enforced T-DAXIs in nonsymmorphic topological crystalline insulators, but also demonstrate the spin-magnetoelectric effect as a detectable topological spin response in nonsymmorphic T-DAXIs.

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Popular Summary

Realizing time-reversal-doubled axion insulators (T-DAXIs) remains challenging because existing models rely strictly on inversion symmetry in topological crystalline insulators, restricting candidate material platforms. We extended the T-DAXI phase to nonsymmorphic topological crystalline insulators by establishing a theoretical framework where nonsymmorphic crystal symmetries protect quantized partial axion angles.

We derived spin-resolved topological classifications for these nonsymmorphic phases and predicted that they exhibit a quantized topological spin magnetoelectric response. Furthermore, using electronic structure analysis, we identified the mixed bismuth monohalide series Bi4BrxI4−x as synthesizable material candidates hosting this protected T-DAXI phase. Our work expands the scope of spinful axion insulator physics to noncentrosymmetric crystals, establishing material targets for observing robust topological spin-electrodynamic phenomena.

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Phys. Rev. X 16, 041017– Published 15 October, 2026
  • Received 13 February 2026
  • Revised 21 June 2026
  • Accepted 21 September 2026
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