G. Tkachov and E. Hankiewicz. “Spin-helical transport in normal and superconducting topological insulators.” physica status solidi (b) 250, no. 2 (2013): 215-232.
Spin-helical transport in normal and superconducting topological insulators
Presenter: Scott Geraedts
Date(s): 27 January 2013
Description: Transport has been one of the most important experimental tools in studying topological insulators. ARPES and STM are two direct probes which offer many advantages over transport. However, transport promises a lot of flexibility in the type of experiments that it is compatible with as well as the “artificial” systems it is capable of studying. In other words, complex systems engineered using topological insulators, superconductors, ferromagnetic materials, etc. can be studied at ultralow temperatures, high magnetic fields, and relatively simpler vacuum environments.
Having covered the basics of 2D and 3D topological insulators in the previous two papers, this paper discusses a wide range of physical phenomena, unique to topological insulators, which have been studied using transport. It is important to note that, despite finite bulk conductivity in 3D topological insulators, it is possible to detect topologically nontrivial phases in subtle ways. Some of these techniques are also discussed in this paper. Finally, the paper covers the interplay of the physics of topological insulators and superconductors, which is a prerequisite to topological superconductivity in the papers to follow.
With the permission of the presenter, the slides for this journal club meeting can be found in the PDF file here. If you notice any typos or scientific inaccuracies in the slides, I would be grateful if you could bring them to my attention by sending me an email.