Studies on the electronic structures of three-dimensional topological insulators by angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy

Three-dimensional (3D) topological insulators represent a new state of quantum matter with a bulk gap and odd number of relativistic Dirac fermions on the surface. The unusual surface states of topological insulators rise from the nontrivial topology of their electronic structures as a result of strong spin-orbital coupling. In this review, we will briefly introduce the concept of topological insulators and the experimental method that can directly probe their unique electronic structure: angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). A few examples are then presented to demonstrate the unique band structures of different families of topological insulators and the unusual properties of the topological surface states. Finally, we will briefly discuss the future development of topological quantum materials.     

Electronic properties of SnTe-class topological crystalline insulator materials

The rise of topological insulators in recent years has broken new ground both in the conceptual cognition of condensed matter physics and the promising revolution of the electronic devices.It also stimulates the explorations of more topological states of matter.Topological crystalline insulator is a new topological phase,which combines the electronic topology and crystal symmetry together.In this article,we review the recent progress in the studies of SnTe-class topological crystalline insulator materials.Starting from the topological identifications in the aspects of the bulk topology,surface states calculations,and experimental observations,we present the electronic properties of topological crystalline insulators under various perturbations,including native defect,chemical doping,strain,and thickness-dependent confinement effects,and then discuss their unique quantum transport properties,such as valley-selective filtering and helicity-resolved functionalities for Dirac fermions.The rich properties and high tunability make SnTe-class materials promising candidates for novel quantum devices.     

Observation of Topological Links Associated with Hopf Insulators in a Solid-State Quantum Simulator

Hopf insulators are intriguing three-dimensional topological insulators characterized by an integer topological invariant. They originate from the mathematical theory of Hopf fibration and epitomize the deep connection between knot theory and topological phases of matter, which distinguishes them from other classes of topological insulators. Here, we implement a model Hamiltonian for Hopf insulators in a solid-state quantum simulator and report the first experimental observation of their topological properties,including nontrivial topological links associated with the Hopf fibration and the integer-valued topological invariant obtained from a direct tomographic measurement. Our observation of topological links and Hopf fibration in a quantum simulator opens the door to probe rich topological properties of Hopf insulators in experiments. The quantum simulation and probing methods are also applicable to the study of other intricate three-dimensional topological model Hamiltonians.     

拓扑声子与声子霍尔效应

拓扑学与物理的结合是近几十年物理学蓬勃发展的一个新领域,它不仅活跃在量子场理论以及高能物理中,更广泛地存在于凝聚态物理体系中,包括量子(反常、自旋)霍尔效应和拓扑绝缘体(超导体)等.声子是凝聚态体系中热输运的主要载体;最近由于各种声子器件的发现,声子学得到了广泛的关注.本文介绍了声子的拓扑性质以及声子的霍尔效应现象,分别评述了在破坏时间反演对称、破坏空间反演对称、以及同时破坏时间和空间反演对称三种情况下所产生的声子霍尔效应、声子谷霍尔效应等相关物理研究进展.最后对拓扑学在其他声学体系中的应用做了简单介绍,并进一步讨论了其未来的发展方向.     

Topological insulator: Spintronics and quantum computations

Topological insulators are emergent states of quantum matter that are gapped in the bulk with timereversal symmetry-preserved gapless edge/surface states, adiabatically distinct from conventional materials. By proximity to various magnets and superconductors, topological insulators show novel physics at the interfaces, which give rise to two new areas named topological spintronics and topological quantum computation. Effects in the former such as the spin torques, spin-charge conversion, topological antiferromagnetic spintronics, and skyrmions realized in topological systems will be addressed. In the latter, a superconducting pairing gap leads to a state that supports Majorana fermions states, which may provide a new path for realizing topological quantum computation. Various signatures of Majorana zero modes/edge mode in topological superconductors will be discussed. The review ends by outlooks and potential applications of topological insulators. Topological superconductors that are fabricated using topological insulators with superconductors have a full pairing gap in the bulk and gapless surface states consisting of Majorana fermions. The theory of topological superconductors is reviewed, in close analogy to the theory of topological insulators.     

Weak antilocalization and interaction-induced localization of Dirac and Weyl Fermions in topological insulators and semimetals

Weak localization and antilocalization are quantum transport phenomena that arise from the quantum interference in disordered metals.At low temperatures,they can give distinct temperature and magnetic field dependences in conductivity,allowing the symmetry of the system to be explored.In the past few years,they have also been observed in newly emergent topological materials,including topological insulators and topological semimetals.In contrast from the conventional electrons,in these new materials the quasiparticles are described as Dirac or Weyl fermions.In this article,we review our recent efforts on the theories of weak antilocalization and interaction-induced localization for Dirac and Weyl fermions in topological insulators and topological semimetals.     

拓扑绝缘体电子态的电场调控

文章简要介绍了对拓扑绝缘体性质的电场控制,主要包括三维拓扑绝缘体表面磁性的电场控制、电子在p-n结中的类光输运行为以及拓扑绝缘体量子点的特性.     

Electron localization in ultrathin films of three-dimensional topological insulators

The recent discovery of three-dimensional(3D) topological insulators(TIs) has provided a fertile ground for obtaining further insights into electron localization in condensed matter systems.In the past few years,a tremendous amount of research effort has been devoted to investigate electron transport properties of 3D TIs and their low dimensional structures in a wide range of disorder strength,covering transport regimes from weak antilocalization to strong localization.The knowledge gained from these studies not only offers sensitive means to probe the surface states of 3D TIs but also forms a basis for exploring novel topological phases.In this article,we briefly review the main experimental progress in the study of the localization in 3D TIs,with a focus on the latest results on ultrathin TI films.Some new transport data will also be presented in order to complement those reported previously in the literature.     

Realistic time-reversal invariant topological insulators with neutral atoms

We lay out an experiment to realize time-reversal invariant topological insulators in alkali atomic gases. We introduce an original method to synthesize a gauge field in the near field of an atom chip, which effectively mimics the effects of spin-orbit coupling and produces quantum spin-Hall states. We also propose a feasible scheme to engineer sharp boundaries where the hallmark edge states are localized. Our multiband system has a large parameter space exhibiting a variety of quantum phase transitions between topological and normal insulating phases. Because of their remarkable versatility, cold-atom systems are ideally suited to realize topological states of matter and drive the development of topological quantum computing.     

Transport properties of topological insulators films and nanowires

The last several years have witnessed the rapid developments in the study and understanding of topological insulators. In this review, after a brief summary of the history of topological insulators, we focus on the recent progress made in transport experiments on topological insulator films and nanowires. Some quantum phenomena, including the weak antilocalization, the Aharonov-Bobm effect, and the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations, observed in these nanostructures are described. In addition, the electronic transport evidence of the superconducting proximity effect as well as an anomalous resistance enhancement in topological insulator/superconductor hybrid structures is included.     

Photo- and Thermoelectric Phenomena in Two-Dimensional Topological Insulators and Semimetals Based on HgTe Quantum Wells (Scientific Summary)

JETP Letters - Experimental studies of photo- and thermoelectric phenomena in two-dimensional topological insulators and semimetals based on HgTe quantum wells have been briefly reviewed.     

Torsional response and dissipationless viscosity in topological insulators

We consider the viscoelastic response of the electronic degrees of freedom in 2D and 3D topological insulators (TI's). Our primary focus is on the 2D Chern insulator which exhibits a bulk dissipationless viscosity analogous to the quantum Hall viscosity predicted in integer and fractional quantum Hall states. We show that the dissipationless viscosity is the response of a TI to torsional deformations of the underlying lattice geometry. The viscoelastic response also indicates that crystal dislocations in Chern insulators will carry momentum density. We briefly discuss generalizations to 3D which imply that time-reversal invariant TI's will exhibit a quantum Hall viscosity on their surfaces.     

Experimental Realization of an Intrinsic Magnetic Topological Insulator

An intrinsic magnetic topological insulator(TI) is a stoichiometric magnetic compound possessing both inherent magnetic order and topological electronic states. Such a material can provide a shortcut to various novel topological quantum effects but remained elusive experimentally for a long time. Here we report the experimental realization of thin films of an intrinsic magnetic TI, MnBi_2Te_4, by alternate growth of a Bi_2Te_3 quintuple layer and a MnTe bilayer with molecular beam epitaxy. The material shows the archetypical Dirac surface states in angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and is demonstrated to be an antiferromagnetic topological insulator with ferromagnetic surfaces by magnetic and transport measurements as well as first-principles calculations. The unique magnetic and topological electronic structures and their interplays enable the material to embody rich quantum phases such as quantum anomalous Hall insulators and axion insulators at higher temperature and in a well-controlled way.     

Topological insulator as an optical modulator for pulsed solid‐state lasers

Topological insulators are states of quantum matter that have narrow topological nontrivial energy gaps and a large third‐order nonlinear optical response. The optical absorption of topological insulators can become saturated under strong excitation. In this work, with Bi₂Se₃ as an example, it was demonstrated that a topological insulator can modulate the operation of a bulk solid‐state laser by taking advantage of its saturable absorption. The result suggests that topological insulators are potentially attractive as broadband pulsed modulators for the generation of short and ultrashort pulses in bulk solid‐state lasers, in addition to other promising applications in physics and computing.     

Topological photonic states in artificial microstructures[Invited]

Topological photonics provides a new opportunity for the examination of novel topological properties of matter, in which the energy band theory and ideas in topology are utilized to manipulate the propagation of photons. Since the discovery of topological insulators in condensed matter, researchers have studied similar topological effects in photonics.Topological photonics can lead to materials that support the robust unidirectional propagation of light without back reflections. This ideal transport property is unprecedented in traditional optics and may lead to radical changes in integrated optical devices. In this review, we present the exciting developments of topological photonics and focus on several prominent milestones of topological phases in photonics, such as topological insulators, topological semimetals, and higher-order topological phases. We conclude with the prospect of novel topological effects and their applications in topological photonics.     

Intrinsic magnetic topological materials

Topological states of matter possess bulk electronic structures categorized by topological invariants and edge/surface states due to the bulk-boundary correspondence. Topological materials hold great potential in the development of dissipationless spintronics, information storage and quantum computation, particularly if combined with magnetic order intrinsically or extrinsically. Here, we review the recent progress in the exploration of intrinsic magnetic topological materials, including but not limited to magnetic topological insulators, magnetic topological metals, and magnetic Weyl semimetals. We pay special attention to their characteristic band features such as the gap of topological surface state, gapped Dirac cone induced by magnetization (either bulk or surface), Weyl nodal point/line and Fermi arc, as well as the exotic transport responses resulting from such band features. We conclude with a brief envision for experimental explorations of new physics or effects by incorporating other orders in intrinsic magnetic topological materials.     

Nonlinear phenomena in quantum thermoelectrics and heat

We review recent developments in nonlinear quantum transport through nanostructures and mesoscopic systems driven by thermal gradients or in combination with voltage biases. Low-dimensional conductors are excellent platforms for analyzing both the thermoelectric and heat dynamics beyond the linear response because, due to their small size, a small temperature difference applied across regions gives rise to large thermal biases. We offer a theoretical discussion based on the scattering approach to highlight the differences between the linear and the nonlinear regimes of transport. We discuss recent experiments on quantum dots and molecular junctions subjected to strong temperature differences. Theoretical predictions concerning the Kondo effect and heat rectification proposals are briefly examined. An important issue is the calculation of thermoelectric efficiencies including nonlinearities. Cross Seebeck effects and nonlinear spin filtering arise in superconductors and topological insulators, while mixed noises between charge and heat currents are also considered. Finally, we provide an outlook on the possible future directions of the field.     

Electron transport properties of three-dimensional topological insulators

We review experimental advances in the study of the electron transport in three-dimensional topological insulators with emphasis on experiments that attempted to identify the surface transport. Recent results on transport properties of topological insulator thin films will be discussed in the context of weak antilocalization and electron-electron interactions. Current status of gate-voltage control of the chemical potential in topological insulators will also be described.     

The insulating state of matter: a geometrical theory

In 1964 Kohn published the milestone paper “Theory of the insulating state”, according to which insulators and metals differ in their ground state. Even before the system is excited by any probe, a different organization of the electrons is present in the ground state and this is the key feature discriminating between insulators and metals. However, the theory of the insulating state remained somewhat incomplete until the late 1990s; this review addresses the recent developments. The many-body ground wavefunction of any insulator is characterized by means of geometrical concepts (Berry phase, connection, curvature, Chern number, quantum metric). Among them, it is the quantum metric which sharply characterizes the insulating state of matter. The theory deals on a common ground with several kinds of insulators: band insulators, Mott insulators, Anderson insulators, quantum Hall insulators, Chern and topological insulators.     

凝聚体中的拓扑量子态

探寻拓扑上非平庸的凝聚体物质状态,特别是其电子结构和输运性质,是当前凝聚体物理 学领域非常重要的前沿研究方向。本文讨论的大多数主题都与电子波函数的拓扑性质有关。全文 除简短的引言外,包括拓扑量子现象、各种拓扑相、拓扑性准粒子的异常输运性质、拓扑性集 体激发和耦合激发,以及继续发展的拓扑量子态研究五个章节。这些章节着重反映拓扑量子态研 究的各个侧面,汇总起来方可以凸显凝聚体中拓扑量子态的全貌。