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Topological Quantization in Units of the Fine Structure Constant

Joseph Maciejko, Xiao-Liang Qi, H. Dennis Drew, and Shou-Cheng Zhang
Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 166803 – Published 12 October 2010
Physics logo See Synopsis: Fundamental constants from topological insulators

Abstract

Fundamental topological phenomena in condensed matter physics are associated with a quantized electromagnetic response in units of fundamental constants. Recently, it has been predicted theoretically that the time-reversal invariant topological insulator in three dimensions exhibits a topological magnetoelectric effect quantized in units of the fine structure constant α=e2/c. In this Letter, we propose an optical experiment to directly measure this topological quantization phenomenon, independent of material details. Our proposal also provides a way to measure the half-quantized Hall conductances on the two surfaces of the topological insulator independently of each other.

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  • Received 16 April 2010

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.105.166803

© 2010 The American Physical Society

Synopsis

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Fundamental constants from topological insulators

Published 13 October 2010

Measuring the quantized magnetoelectric response in topological insulators could help establish precise values for basic physical constants.

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Authors & Affiliations

Joseph Maciejko1,2, Xiao-Liang Qi3,1,2, H. Dennis Drew4, and Shou-Cheng Zhang1,2

  • 1Department of Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA
  • 2Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA
  • 3Microsoft Research, Station Q, Elings Hall, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA
  • 4Center for Nanophysics and Advanced Materials, Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA

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Issue

Vol. 105, Iss. 16 — 15 October 2010

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