Quantum anomalous Hall effect in graphene from Rashba and exchange effects

We investigate the possibility of realizing quantum anomalous Hall effect in graphene. We show that a bulk energy gap can be opened in the presence of both Rashba spin-orbit coupling and an exchange field. We calculate the Berry curvature distribution and find a nonzero Chern number for the valence bands and demonstrate the existence of gapless edge states. Inspired by this finding, we also study, by first-principles method, a concrete example of graphene with Fe atoms adsorbed on top, obtaining the same result.