The layer Hall effect describes electrons spontaneously deflected to opposite sides at different layers, which has been experimentally reported in the MnBi2Te4 thinfilms under perpendicular electric fields [Gao et al., Nature 595, 521 (2021)]. Here, beyond the scenario of $\mathcal {PT}$-symmetry breaking in the experiment, we reveal a universal origin of the layer Hall effect in terms of the so-called hidden Berry curvature, as well as material design principles. Hence, it gives rise to zero Berry curvature in momentum space but nonzero layer-locked hidden Berry curvature in real space. We show that compared to that of a trivial insulator, the layer Hall effect is significantly enhanced in antiferromagnetic topological insulators. Our universal picture provides a paradigm for revealing the hidden physics as a result of the interplay between the global and local symmetries, and can be generalized in various scenarios.

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Motivated by the recent experimental observation of the topological Anderson insulator in disordered atomic wires based on the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) model, we study disorder effects on a dimerized Kitaev superconductor chain which is regarded as the superconductor version of the SSH model. By computing the real-space winding number and the zero-bias differential conductance, we analyze the topological phase transitions occurring in a dimerized Kitaev superconductor chain with disorder. It is found that disorder can induce a topologically nontrivial superconductor phase hosting Majorana zero modes (MZMs). We can regulate the appearance of disorder-induced MZMs by adjusting the dimerization parameter. Finally, we use the self-consistent Born approximation method to verify the numerical results. arXiv:1907.08787v1 [cond-mat.mes-hall]

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