English

Transport of Dirac electrons in a random magnetic field in topological heterostructures

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics 2016-06-15 v1

Abstract

We consider the proximity effect between Dirac states at the surface of a topological insulator and a ferromagnet with easy plane anisotropy, which is described by the \emph{XY}-model and undergoes a Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) phase transition. The surface states of the topological insulator interacting with classical magnetic fluctuations of the ferromagnet can be mapped onto the problem of Dirac fermions in a random magnetic field. However, this analogy is only partial in the presence of electron-hole asymmetry or warping of the Dirac dispersion, which results in screening of magnetic fluctuations. Scattering at magnetic fluctuations influences the behavior of the surface resistivity as a function of temperature. Near the BKT phase transition temperature we find that the resistivity of surface states scales linearly with temperature and has a clear maximum which becomes more pronounced as the Fermi energy decreases. Additionally at low temperatures we find linear resistivity, usually associated with non-Fermi liquid behavior, however here it appears entirely within the Fermi liquid picture.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1603.00498,
  title  = {Transport of Dirac electrons in a random magnetic field in topological heterostructures},
  author = {Hilary M. Hurst and Dmitry K. Efimkin and Victor Galitski},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1603.00498},
  year   = {2016}
}

Comments

5 pages, 1 figure