Related papers: Unprotected edge modes in quantum spin Hall insula…
The nature of edge state transport in quantum Hall systems has been studied intensely ever since Halperin [1] noted its importance for the quantization of the Hall conductance. Since then, there have been many developments in the study of…
Conventional wisdom holds that, in the simplest time-reversal-symmetric setting, strongly coupling two QSH layers yields a trivial $\mathbb Z_2$ phase and no protected topological edge states. We demonstrate that, in a regime with…
We report the studies of high-quality HgTe/(Cd,Hg)Te quantum wells (QWs) with a width close to the critical one $d_c$, corresponding to the topological phase transition and graphene like band structure in view of their applications for…
We develop a theory of quantum spin Hall insulators with arbitrary spin $J$. Our analysis demonstrates that such systems support $J+\tfrac{1}{2}$ pairs of helical edge modes protected by nontrivial mirror Chern numbers. We establish that…
In a topological insulator (TI) the character of electron transport varies from insulating in the interior of the material to metallic near its surface. Unlike, however, ordinary metals, conducting surface states in TIs are topologically…
The Hofstadter model is a simple yet powerful Hamiltonian to study quantum Hall physics in a lattice system, manifesting its essential topological states. Lattice dimerization in the Hofstadter model opens an energy gap at half filling.…
We investigate the electronic and transport properties of topological and trivial InAs$_{1-x}$Bi$_x$ quantum dots (QDs). By considering the rapid band gap change within valence band anticrossing theory for InAs$_{1-x}$Bi$_x$, we predicted…
We present a multi-probe transport analysis that effectively separates bulk and edge currents in large Hall bar devices with standard geometries. Applied to transport measurements on all possible four-probe configurations of six-probe Hall…
Recent theory predicted that the Quantum Spin Hall Effect, a fundamentally novel quantum state of matter that exists at zero external magnetic field, may be realized in HgTe/(Hg,Cd)Te quantum wells. We have fabricated such sample structures…
Localization of the helical edge states in quantum spin Hall insulators requires breaking time reversal invariance. In experiments this is naturally implemented by applying a weak magnetic field B. We propse a model based on scattering…
Electrical currents in a quantum spin Hall insulator are confined to the boundary of the system. The charge carriers can be described as massless relativistic particles, whose spin and momentum are coupled to each other. While the helical…
Topological insulators are new class of materials which are characterized by a bulk band gap like ordinary band insulator but have protected conducting states on their edge or surface. These states emerge out due to the combination of…
Topological states of matter have attracted a lot of attention due to their many intriguing transport properties. In particular, two-dimensional topological insulators (2D TI) possess gapless counter propagating conducting edge channels,…
The solutions for the helical edge states for an effective continuum model for the quantum spin Hall effect in HgTe/CdTe quantum wells are presented. For a sample of a large size, the solution gives the linear dispersion for the edge…
Topologically protected edge states are the highlight feature of an interface between non-equivalent insulators. The robustness/sensitivity of these states to local single-particle perturbations is well understood, while their stability in…
Topological insulators are a newly discovered phase of matter characterized by a gapped bulk surrounded by novel conducting boundary states. Since their theoretical discovery, these materials have encouraged intense efforts to study their…
Topological materials host fascinating low dimensional gapless states at the boundary. As a prominent example, helical topological edge states (TESs) of two-dimensional topological insulators (2DTIs) and their stacked three-dimensional (3D)…
The field of topological insulators (TIs) is rapidly growing. Concerning possible applications, the search for materials with an easily controllable TI phase is a key issue. The quantum spin Hall effect, characterized by a single pair of…
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…
The edge states of a two-dimensional quantum spin Hall (QSH) insulator form a one-dimensional helical metal which is responsible for the transport property of the QSH insulator. Conceptually, such a one-dimensional helical metal can be…