Quantum Transport Theory Of 3d Time Reversal Invariant Topological Insulators

Quantum Transport Theory of 3D Time-reversal Invariant Topological Insulators

Studies on Time-reversal Invariant Topological Insulators

This dissertation brings together a number of topics in the theory of time-reversal invariant topological insulators. The first four chapters are devoted to the transport properties of the two-dimensional (2D) quantum spin Hall state. We explain nonlocal transport measurements in mercury telluride (HgTe) quantum wells in terms of a Landauer-Büttiker theory of helical edge transport and confirm the discovery of the quantum spin Hall state in this material. We find that decoherence can lead to backscattering without breaking microscopic time-reversal symmetry. As an example of incoherent scattering, we study a Kondo impurity in an interacting helical edge liquid. A renormalization group analysis shows the existence of an impurity quantum phase transition governed by the Luttinger parameter of the edge liquid between a local helical Fermi liquid with T^6 scaling of the low-temperature conductance, and an insulating strongly correlated phase with fractionally charged emergent excitations. In the presence of a time-reversal symmetry breaking magnetic field, it is known that even coherent scattering can lead to backscattering. Through exact numerical diagonalization we find that nonmagnetic quenched disorder has a strong localizing effect on the edge transport if the disorder strength is comparable to the bulk gap. The predicted magnetoconductance agrees qualitatively with experiment. The last two chapters are devoted to 3D topological insulators. We propose a combined magnetooptical Kerr and Faraday rotation experiment as a universal measure of the Z_2 invariant. Finally, we propose a fractional generalization of 3D topological insulators in strongly correlated systems, characterized by ground state degeneracy on topologically nontrivial spatial 3-manifolds, a quantized fractional bulk magnetoelectric polarizability without time-reversal symmetry breaking, and a halved fractional quantum Hall effect on the surface.

Topological Insulators

Topological Insulators, volume six in the Contemporary Concepts of Condensed Matter Series, describes the recent revolution in condensed matter physics that occurred in our understanding of crystalline solids. The book chronicles the work done worldwide that led to these discoveries and provides the reader with a comprehensive overview of the field. Starting in 2004, theorists began to explore the effect of topology on the physics of band insulators, a field previously considered well understood. However, the inclusion of topology brings key new elements into this old field. Whereas it was thought that all band insulators are essentially equivalent, the new theory predicts two distinct classes of band insulators in two spatial dimensions and 16 classes in three dimensions. These "topological" insulators exhibit a host of unusual physical properties, including topologically protected gapless surface states and exotic electromagnetic response, previously thought impossible in such systems. Within a short time, this new state of quantum matter, topological insulators, has been discovered experimentally both in 2D thin film structures and in 3D crystals and alloys. It appears that topological insulators are quite common in nature, and there are dozens of confirmed substances that exhibit this behavior. Theoretical and experimental studies of these materials are ongoing with the goal of attaining the fundamental understanding and exploiting them in future practical applications. - Usable as a textbook for graduate students and as a reference resource for professionals - Includes the most recent discoveries and visions for future technological applications - All authors are prominent in the field