Anomalous Electron Trajectory in Topological Insulators
Abstract
We present a general theory about electron orbital motions in topological insulators. An in-plane electric field drives spin-up and spin-down electrons bending to opposite directions, and skipping orbital motions, a counterpart of the integer quantum Hall effect, are formed near the boundary of the sample. The accompanying Zitterbewegung can be found and controlled by tuning external electric fields. Ultrafast flipping electron spin leads to a quantum side jump in the topological insulator, and a snake-orbit motion in two-dimensional electron gas with spin-orbit interactions. This feature provides a way to control electron orbital motion by manipulating electron spin.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1109.4771,
title = {Anomalous Electron Trajectory in Topological Insulators},
author = {Li-kun Shi and Shou-cheng Zhang and Kai Chang},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1109.4771},
year = {2016}
}
Comments
5 pages and 4 figures for the letter, 6 pagers for the online supplemental material