Kane, Charles L.
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Publication Topology, Delocalization via Average Symmetry and the Symplectic Anderson Transition(2012-12-14) Fu, Liang; Kane, Charles LA field theory of the Anderson transition in two-dimensional disordered systems with spin-orbit interactions and time-reversal symmetry is developed, in which the proliferation of vortexlike topological defects is essential for localization. The sign of vortex fugacity determines the Z2 topological class of the localized phase. There are two distinct fixed points with the same critical exponents, corresponding to transitions from a metal to an insulator and a topological insulator, respectively. The critical conductivity and correlation length exponent of these transitions are computed in an N = 1 - ε expansion in the number of replicas, where for small epsilon; the critical points are perturbatively connected to the Kosterlitz-Thouless critical point. Delocalized states, which arise at the surface of weak topological insulators and topological crystalline insulators, occur because vortex proliferation is forbidden due to the presence of symmetries that are violated by disorder, but are restored by disorder averaging.Publication Colloquium: Topological Insulators(2010-11-08) Hasan, M. Zahid; Kane, Charles L.Topological insulators are electronic materials that have a bulk band gap like an ordinary insulator but have protected conducted states on their edge or surface. These states are possible due to the combination of spin-orbit interactions and time-reversal symmetry. The two-dimensional (2D) topological insulator is a quantum spin Hall insulator, which is a close cousin of the integer quantum Hall state. A three-dimensional (3D) topological insulator supports novel spin-polarized 2D Dirac fermions on its surface. In this Colloquium the theoretical foundation for topological insulators and superconductors is reviewed and recent experiments are described in which the signatures of topological insulators have been observed. Transport experiments on HgTe/CdTe quantum wells are described that demonstrate the existence of the edge states predicted for teh quantum spin hall insulator. Experiments on Bi1-xSbx, Bi<2Se3, Bi2Te3 and Sb2Te3 are then discussed that establish these materials as 3D topological insulators and directly probe the topology of their surface states. Exotic states are described that can occur at the surface of a 3D topological insulator due to an induced energy gap. A magnetic gap leads to a novel quantum Hall state that gives rise to a topological magnetoelectric effect. A superconducting energy gap leads to a state that supports Majorana fermions and may provide a new venue for realizing proposals for topological quantum computation. Prospects for observing these exotic states are also discussed, as well as other potential device applications of topological insulators.Publication Dirac Semimetal in Three Dimensions(2012-04-06) Young, Steve M; Kane, Charles L; Zaheer, Saad; Mele, Eugene J.; Teo, Jeffrey C; Rappe, A MWe show that the pseudorelativistic physics of graphene near the Fermi level can be extended to three dimensional (3D) materials. Unlike in phase transitions from inversion symmetric topological to normal insulators, we show that particular space groups also allow 3D Dirac points as symmetry protected degeneracies. We provide criteria necessary to identify these groups and, as an example, present ab initio calculations of β-cristobalite BiO2 which exhibits three Dirac points at the Fermi level. We find that β-cristobalite BiO2 is metastable, so it can be physically realized as a 3D analog to graphene.Publication Topological Insulators in Three Dimensions(2007-03-07) Kane, Charles L; Fu, Liang; Mele, Eugene JWe study three-dimensional generalizations of the quantum spin Hall (QSH) effect. Unlike two dimensions, where a single Z2 topological invariant governs the effect, in three dimensions there are 4 invariants distinguishing 16 phases with two general classes: weak (WTI) and strong (STI) topological insulators. The WTI are like layered 2D QSH states, but are destroyed by disorder. The STI are robust and lead to novel ‘‘topological metal’’ surface states. We introduce a tight binding model which realizes the WTI and STI phases, and we discuss its relevance to real materials, including bismuth.Publication One-dimensional Diffusion-limited Relaxation of Photoexcitations in Suspensions of Single-walled Carbon Nanotubes(2006-07-26) Mele, Eugene J; Kane, Charles L; Russo, Richard M; Therien, Michael; Luzzi, David E; Rubtsov, I. VWe report pump-probe transient absorption spectroscopy on carbon nanotubes with a high initial excitation density. We find that the recovery of the ground state optical absorption is well described by a 1/√t relaxation, indicating that the long time population relaxation is controlled by one-dimensional diffusion limited two body recombination.Publication Surface State Magnetization and Chiral Edge States on Topological Insulators(2013-01-25) Kane, Charles L; Zhang, Fan; Mele, Eugene J.We study the interaction between a ferromagnetically ordered medium and the surface states of a topological insulator with a general surface termination that were identified recently [F. Zhang et al.Phys. Rev. B 86 081303(R) (2012)]. This interaction is strongly crystal face dependent and can generate chiral states along edges between crystal facets even for a uniform magnetization. While magnetization parallel to quintuple layers shifts the momentum of the Dirac point, perpendicular magnetization lifts the Kramers degeneracy at any Dirac points except on the side face, where the spectrum remains gapless and the Hall conductivity switches sign. Chiral states can be found at any edge that reverses the projection of the surface normal to the stacking direction of quintuple layers. Magnetization also weakly hybridizes noncleavage surfaces.Publication Interface Between Topological and Superconducting Qubits(2011-03-28) Jiang, Liang; Kane, Charles L; Preskill, JohnWe propose and analyze an interface between a topological qubit and a superconducting flux qubit. In our scheme, the interaction between Majorana fermions in a topological insulator is coherently controlled by a superconducting phase that depends on the quantum state of the flux qubit. A controlled-phase gate, achieved by pulsing this interaction on and off, can transfer quantum information between the topological qubit and the superconducting qubit.Publication Spin Texture on the Fermi Surface of Tensile-strained HgTe(2013-01-03) Zaheer, Saad; Young, Steve M.; Kane, Charles L.; Cellucci, Daniel; Mele, Eugene J.; Teo, Jeffrey C.Y.; Rappe, Andrew M.We present ab initio and k·p calculations of the spin texture on the Fermi surface of tensile-strained HgTe, which is obtained by stretching the zinc-blende lattice along the (111) axis. Tensile-strained HgTe is a semimetal with pointlike accidental degeneracies between a mirror symmetry protected twofold degenerate band and two nondegenerate bands near the Fermi level. The Fermi surface consists of two ellipsoids which contact at the point where the Fermi level crosses the twofold degenerate band along the (111) axis. However, the spin texture of occupied states indicates that neither ellipsoid carries a compensating Chern number. Consequently, the spin texture is locked in the plane perpendicular to the (111) axis, exhibits a nonzero winding number in that plane, and changes winding number from one end of the Fermi ellipsoids to the other. The change in the winding of the spin texture suggests the existence of singular points. An ordered alloy of HgTe with ZnTe has the same effect as stretching the zinc-blende lattice in the (111) direction. We present ab initio calculations of ordered HgxZn1−xTe that confirm the existence of a spin texture locked in a 2D plane on the Fermi surface with different winding numbers on either end.Publication Surface States of Topological Insulators(2012-08-10) Kane, Charles L; Zhang, Fan; Mele, Eugene J.We introduce a topological boundary condition to study the surface states of topological insulators within a long-wavelength four-band model. We find that the Dirac point energy, the band curvature, and the spin texture of surface states are crystal-face dependent. For an arbitrary termination of a bulk crystal, the energy of the symmetry protected Dirac point is determined by the bulk physics that breaks particle-hole symmetry in the surface normal direction and is tunable by surface potentials that preserve time reversal symmetry. For a model appropriate to Bi2Se3 the constant energy contours are generically elliptical with spin textures that are helical on the cleavage surface, collapsed to one dimension on any side face, and tilted out of plane otherwise. Our findings identify a route to engineering the Dirac point physics on the surfaces of real materials.Publication Theoretical Investigation of the Evolution of the Topological Phase of Bi2Se3 under Mechanical Strain(2011-08-19) Young, Steve M.; Chowdhury, Sugata; Mele, Eugene J.; Kane, Charles L; Rappe, Andrew M; Walter, Eric J.The topological insulating phase results from inversion of the band gap due to spin-orbit coupling at an odd number of time-reversal symmetric points. In Bi2Se3, this inversion occurs at the Γ point. For bulk Bi2Se3, we have analyzed the effect of arbitrary strain on the Γ point band gap using density functional theory. By computing the band structure both with and without spin-orbit interactions, we consider the effects of strain on the gap via Coulombic interaction and spin-orbit interaction separately. While compressive strain acts to decrease the Coulombic gap, it also increases the strength of the spin-orbit interaction, increasing the inverted gap. Comparison with Bi2Te3 supports the conclusion that effects on both Coulombic and spin-orbit interactions are critical to understanding the behavior of topological insulators under strain, and we propose that the topological insulating phase can be effectively manipulated by inducing strain through chemical substitution.