We have investigated the nature of surface states in the Bi2Te3 family of three-dimensional topological insulators using first-principles calculations as well as model Hamiltonians. When the surface Dirac cone is warped due to Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling in rhombohedral structures, the spin acquires a finite out-of-plane component. We predict a novel in-plane spin-texture of the warped surface Dirac cone with spins not perpendicular to the electron momentum. Our k.p model calculation reveals that this novel in-plane spin-texture requires high order Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling terms.
@article{arxiv.1103.4675,
title = {Novel Spin-texture on the warped Dirac-cone surface states in topological insulators},
author = {Susmita Basak and Hsin Lin and L. A. Wray and S. -Y. Xu and L. Fu and M. Z. Hasan and A. Bansil},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1103.4675},
year = {2012}
}