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Using angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES), we investigate the surface electronic structure of the magnetic van der Waals compounds MnBi$_4$Te$_7$ and MnBi$_6$Te$_{10}$, the $n=$~1 and 2 members of a modular (Bi$_2$Te$_3$)$_n$(MnBi$_2$Te$_4$) series, which have attracted recent interest as intrinsic magnetic topological insulators. Combining circular dichroic, spin-resolved and photon-energy-dependent ARPES measurements with calculations based on density functional theory, we unveil complex momentum-dependent orbital and spin textures in the surface electronic structure and disentangle topological from trivial surface bands. We find that the Dirac-cone dispersion of the topologial surface state is strongly perturbed by hybridization with valence-band states for Bi$_2$Te$_3$-terminated surfaces but remains preserved for MnBi$_2$Te$_4$-terminated surfaces. Our results firmly establish the topologically non-trivial nature of these magnetic van der Waals materials and indicate that the possibility of realizing a quantized anomalous Hall conductivity depends on surface termination.

The layered van der Waals antiferromagnet MnBi2Te4 has been predicted to combine the band ordering of archetypical topological insulators such as Bi2Te3 with the magnetism of Mn, making this material a viable candidate for the realization of various magnetic topological states. We have systematically investigated the surface electronic structure of MnBi2Te4(0001) single crystals by use of spin- and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy experiments. In line with theoretical predictions, the results reveal a surface state in the bulk band gap and they provide evidence for the influence of exchange interaction and spin-orbit coupling on the surface electronic structure., We acknowledge financial support from the DFG through SFB1170 ’Tocotronics’, SFB1143 ’Correlated Magnetism’, SPP 1666 ’Topological insulators’, ERA-Chemistry Programm (RU-776/15-1), and the Wurzburg-Dresden Cluster of ¨Excellence on Complexity and Topology in Quantum Matter – ct.qmat (EXC 2147, project-id 39085490). We also acknowledge the support by Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MINECO Grant No. FIS2016-75862-P), Academic D.I. Mendeleev Fund Program of Tomsk State University (Project No. 8.1.01.2018), the Saint Petersburg State University grant for scientic investigations (Grant No. 15.61.202.2015), and Russian Foundation for Basic Research (Grant No. 18-52-06009). S.M. acknowledges support by the Swiss National Science Foundation (Grant No. P300P2-171221). This research used resources of the Advanced Light Source, which is a DOE Office of Science User Facility under contract no. DE-AC02-05CH11231. We acknowledge Diamond Light Source for access to beamline I05 (proposals No. SI19278 and No. SI22468) that contributed to the results presented here. Parts of this research were carried out at PETRA III (DESY, Hamburg, Germany) under Proposal No. I-20180510. This work has been partly performed in the framework of the Nanoscience Foundry and Fine Analysis (NFFA-MIUR, Italy) facility. M.M.O. acknowledges support by the Diputacion Foral de Gipuzkoa ((SAREA 2018 - RED ´2018, project no. 2018-CIEN-000025-01).

Physical review / B covering condensed matter and materials physics 100(12), 121104-1-121104-6 (2019). doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.100.121104, The layered van der Waals antiferromagnet $MnBi_{2}Te_{4}$ (0001) has been predicted to combine the band ordering of archetypical topological insulators such as Bi2Te3 with the magnetism of Mn, making this material a viable candidate for the realization of various magnetic topological states. We have systematically investigated the surface electronic structure of $MnBi_{2}Te_{4}$ (0001)single crystals by use of spin- and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy experiments. In line with theoretical predictions, the results reveal a surface state in the bulk band gap and they provide evidence for the influence of exchange interaction and spin-orbit coupling on the surface electronic structure., Published by Inst., Woodbury, NY