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Testing topological protection of edge states in hexagonal quantum spin Hall candidate materials

Fernando Dominguez, Benedikt Scharf, Gang Li, Jörg Schäfer, Ralph Claessen, Werner Hanke, Ronny Thomale, and Ewelina M. Hankiewicz
Phys. Rev. B 98, 161407(R) – Published 23 October 2018
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Abstract

We analyze the detailed structure of topological edge mode protection occurring in hexagonal quantum spin Hall (QSH) materials. We focus on bismuthene, antimonene, and arsenene on a SiC substrate, which, due to their large bulk gap, may offer new opportunities for room-temperature QSH applications. While time-reversal symmetry is responsible for the principal symmetry protected character of QSH states, the hexagonal edge terminations yield further aspects of crystal symmetry which affect the topological protection. We show that armchair QSH edge states remain gapless under an in-plane magnetic field in the direction along the edge, a hallmark of their topological crystalline protection. In contrast, an out-of-plane magnetic field opens a gap of the order of a few meV within realistic ranges of the parameters. We use these intriguing signatures of armchair QSH edge states to predict experimentally testable fingerprints of their additional topological crystalline character and their helicity emerging in tunneling spectroscopy and ballistic magnetotransport.

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  • Received 9 March 2018
  • Revised 24 July 2018

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.98.161407

©2018 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

Fernando Dominguez1,*, Benedikt Scharf1,*, Gang Li2, Jörg Schäfer3, Ralph Claessen3, Werner Hanke4, Ronny Thomale4, and Ewelina M. Hankiewicz1

  • 1Institute for Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics, TP4, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
  • 2School of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai 201210, China
  • 3Physikalisches Institut and Röntgen Center for Complex Material Systems, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
  • 4Institute for Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics, TP1, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany

  • *These authors contributed equally to this work.

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Issue

Vol. 98, Iss. 16 — 15 October 2018

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