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Register a new userProtection of helical transport in Quantum Spin Hall samples: the role of symmetries on edges
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Time-reversal invariant two-dimensional topological insulators, often dubbed Quantum Spin Hall systems, possess helical edge modes whose ballistic transport is protected by physical symmetries. We argue that, though the time-reversal symmetry (TRS) of the bulk is needed for the existence of helicity, protection of the helical transport is actually provided by the spin conservation on the edges. This general statement is illustrated by specific examples. One example demonstrates the ballistic conductance in the setup where the TRS on the edge is broken. It shows that attributing the symmetry protection exclusively to the TRS is not entirely correct. Another example reveals weakness of the protection in the case where helical transport is governed by a space-fluctuating spin-orbit interaction. Our results demonstrate the fundamental importance of the spin conservation analysis for the identification of mechanisms which may (or may not) lead to suppression of the ballistic helical transport.
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We show that edges of Quantum Spin Hall topological insulators represent a natural platform for realization of exotic supersolid phase. On one hand, fermionic edge modes are helical due to the nontrivial topology of the bulk. On the other hand, a disorder at the edge or magnetic adatoms may produce a dense array of localized spins interacting with the helical electrons. The spin subsystem is magnetically frustrated since the indirect exchange favors formation of helical spin order and the direct one favors (anti)ferromagnetic ordering of the spins. At a moderately strong direct exchange, the competition between these spin interactions results in the spontaneous breaking of parity and in the Ising type order of the $z$-components at zero temperature. If the total spin is conserved the spin order does not pin a collective massless helical mode which supports the ideal transport. In this case, the phase transition converts the helical spin order to the order of a chiral lattice supersolid. This represents a radically new possibility for experimental studies of the elusive supersolidity.
Using the random matrix theory, we investigate the ensemble statistics of edge transport of a quantum spin Hall insulator with multiple edge states in the presence of quenched disorder. Dorokhov-Mello-Pereyra-Kumar equation applicable for such a system is established. It is found that a two-dimensional quantum spin Hall insulator is effectively a new type of one-dimensional (1D) quantum conductor with the different ensemble statistics from that of the ordinary 1D quantum conductor or the insulator with an even number of Kramers edge pairs. The ensemble statistics provides a physical manifestation of the Z2-classification for the time-reversal invariant insulators.
We numerically investigate the interplay of disorder and electron-electron interactions in the integer quantum Hall effect. In particular, we focus on the behaviour of the electronic compressibility as a function of magnetic field and electron density. We find manifestations of non-linear screening and charging effects around integer filling factors, consistent with recent imaging experiments. Our calculations exhibit $g$-factor enhancement as well as strong overscreening in the centre of the Landau bands. Even though the critical behaviour appears mostly unaffected by interactions, important implications for the phase diagram arise. Our results are in very good agreement with the experimental findings and strongly support the relevance of electron-electron interactions for understanding integer quantum Hall physics.
We study the effect of backward scatterings in the tunneling at a point contact between the edges of a second level hierarchical fractional quantum Hall states. A universal scaling dimension of the tunneling conductance is obtained only when both of the edge channels propagate in the same direction. It is shown that the quasiparticle tunneling picture and the electron tunneling picture give different scaling behaviors of the conductances, which indicates the existence of a crossover between the two pictures. When the direction of two edge-channels are opposite, e.g. in the case of MacDonalds edge construction for the $ u=2/3$ state, the phase diagram is divided into two domains giving different temperature dependence of the conductance.
A two-dimensional (2D) topological insulator (TI) exhibits the quantum spin Hall (QSH) effect, in which topologically protected spin-polarized conducting channels exist at the sample edges. Experimental signatures of the QSH effect have recently been reported for the first time in an atomically thin material, monolayer WTe2. Electrical transport measurements on exfoliated samples and scanning tunneling spectroscopy on epitaxially grown monolayer islands signal the existence of edge modes with conductance approaching the quantized value. Here, we directly image the local conductivity of monolayer WTe2 devices using microwave impedance microscopy, establishing beyond doubt that conduction is indeed strongly localized to the physical edges at temperatures up to 77 K and above. The edge conductivity shows no gap as a function of gate voltage, ruling out trivial conduction due to band bending or in-gap states, and is suppressed by magnetic field as expected. Interestingly, we observe additional conducting lines and rings within most samples which can be explained by edge states following boundaries between topologically trivial and non-trivial regions. These observations will be critical for interpreting and improving the properties of devices incorporating WTe2 or other air-sensitive 2D materials. At the same time, they reveal the robustness of the QSH channels and the potential to engineer and pattern them by chemical or mechanical means in the monolayer material platform.
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