2012/07/31 by Adrian Del Maestro, Timo Hyart, Bernd Rosenow
Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Graphene research and applications #Quantum and electron transport phenomena #Topological Materials and Phenomena #cond-mat.mes-hall
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevb.87.165440
published as Phys. Rev. B 87, 165440 (2013) · 4+ pages, 4 figures
arxiv created 2012/07/31 · openalex publication_date 2013/04/29 · arxiv updated 2013/05/03 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We show that the nonequilibrium spin polarization of one-dimensional helical edge states at the boundary of a two-dimensional topological insulator can dynamically induce a polarization of nuclei via the hyperfine interaction. When combined with a spatially inhomogeneous Rashba coupling, the steady-state polarization of the nuclei produces backscattering between the topologically protected edge states leading to a reduction in the conductance which persists to zero temperature. We study these effects in both short and long edges, uncovering deviations from Ohmic transport at finite temperature and a current noise spectrum which may hold the fingerprints for experimental verification of the backscattering mechanism.