Related papers: Backscattering Between Helical Edge States via Dyn…
Topological insulators are promising for spintronics and related technologies due to their spin-momentum-locked edge states, which are protected by time-reversal symmetry. In addition to the unique fundamental physics that arises in these…
Transport by helical edge states of a quantum spin Hall insulator is experimentally characterized by a weakly temperature-dependent mean free path of a few microns and by reproducible conductance oscillations, challenging proposed…
We investigate the influence of nuclear spins on the resistance of helical edge states of two-dimensional topological insulators (2DTIs). Via the hyperfine interaction, nuclear spins allow electron backscattering, otherwise forbidden by…
The electrons in the edge channels of two-dimensional topological insulators can be described as a helical Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid. They couple to nuclear spins embedded in the host materials through the hyperfine interaction, and are…
We study backscattering of electrons and conductance suppression in a helical edge channel in two-dimensional topological insulators with broken axial spin symmetry in the presence of nonmagnetic point defects that create bound states. In…
We study the helical edge states of a two-dimensional topological insulator without axial spin symmetry due to the Rashba spin-orbit interaction. Lack of axial spin symmetry can lead to so-called generic helical edge states, which have…
The helical edge states of time-reversal invariant two-dimensional topological insulators are protected against backscattering in idealized models. In more realistic scenarios with a shallow confining potential at the sample boundary,…
The spin degree of freedom is crucial for both understanding and exploiting the particular properties of the edges of two-dimensional topological insulators. In the absence of superconductivity and magnetism, Rashba coupling is the most…
In a recent experiment, Young et al. [Nature {\bf 505}, 528 (2014)] observed a metal to insulator transition as well as transport through helical edge states in monolayer graphene under a strong, tilted magnetic field. Under such…
We evaluate the low-temperature conductance of a weakly interacting one-dimensional helical liquid without axial spin symmetry. The lack of that symmetry allows for inelastic backscattering of a single electron, accompanied by…
We study a one-dimensional helical system with random Rashba spin-orbit coupling. Using renor- malization group methods, we derive a consistent set of flow equations governing the important con- trol parameters of the backscattering…
We demonstrate that electrostatic interactions between helical electrons at the edge of a quantum spin Hall insulator and a dynamical impurity can induce quasi-elastic backscattering. Modelling the impurity as a two-level system, we show…
A single pair of helical edge states as realized at the boundary of a quantum spin Hall insulator is known to be robust against elastic single particle backscattering as long as time reversal symmetry is preserved. However, there is no…
The quantization of conductance in the presence of non-magnetic point defects is a consequence of topological protection and the spin-momentum locking of helical edge states in two-dimensional topological insulators. This protection ensures…
We consider a quantum spin Hall system in a two-terminal setup, with an extended tunneling contact connecting upper and lower edges. We analyze the effects of this geometry on the backscattering current as a function of voltage,…
We study interaction-induced backscattering mechanism for helical edge states of a two-dimensional topological insulator which is tunnel-coupled to a puddle located near the edge channel. The mechanism does not involve inelastic scattering…
We analyze the dynamics of the helical edge modes of a quantum spin Hall state in the presence of a spatially non-uniform Rashba spin-orbit (SO) interaction. A randomly fluctuating Rashba SO coupling is found to open a scattering channel…
We study quantum quenches of helical liquids with spin-flip inelastic scattering. Counterpropagating charge packets in helical edges can be created by an ultrashort electric pulse applied across a 2D topological insulator. Localized "hot…
The combination of Rashba spin-orbit coupling and potential disorder induces a random current operator for the edge states of a 2D topological insulator. We prove that charge transport through such an edge is ballistic at any temperature,…
The presence of edges locally breaks the inversion symmetry of heterostructures and gives rise to lateral (edge) spin-orbit coupling (SOC), which, under some conditions, can lead to the formation of helical edge states. If the edge SOC is…