Time-reversal symmetric charge and spin transport through a molecule comprising two-orbital channels and connected to two leads is analyzed. It is demonstrated that spin-resolved currents are generated when spin-flip processes are accompanied by a flip of the orbital channels. This surprising finding does not contradict Bardarson's theorem [J. H. Bardarson, J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 41, 405203 (2008)] for two-terminal junctions: the transmission does possess two pairs of doubly-degenerate eigenvalues as required by the theorem. The spin-filtering effect is explicitly demonstrated for a two-terminal chiral molecular junction, modeled by a two-orbital tight-binding chain with intra-atomic spin-orbit interactions (SOI). In the context of transport through organic molecules like DNA, this effect is termed "chirality-induced spin selectivity" (CISS). The model exhibits spin-splitting without breaking time-reversal symmetry: the intra-atomic SOI induces concomitant spin and orbital flips. Examining these transitions from the point of view of the Bloch states in an infinite molecule, it is shown that they cause shifts in the Bloch wave numbers, of the size of the reciprocal single turn, whose directions depend on the left-and right-handedness of the helix. As a result, spin-up and spin-down states propagate in the opposite directions, leading to the CISS effect. To further substantiate our picture, we present an analytically-tractable expression for the 8$\times$8 scattering matrix of such a (single) molecule.
The chirality-induced spin selectivity (CISS) effect has been confirmed experimentally for a large class of organic molecules. Adequately modeling the effect remains a challenging task, with both phenomenological models and first-principle simulations yielding inconclusive results. Building upon a previously presented model by K. Michaeli and R. Naaman (J. Phys. Chem C 123, 17043 (2019)) we systematically investigate an effective 1-dimensional model derived as the limit of a 3-dimensional quantum system with strong confinement and including spin-orbit coupling. Having a simple analytic structu…
A minimal model is exactly solved for electron spin transport on a helix. Electron transport is assumed to be supported by well oriented $p_z$ type orbitals on base molecules forming a staircase of definite chirality. In a tight binding interpretation, the SOC opens up an effective $π_z-π_z$ coupling via interbase $p_{x,y}-p_z$ hopping, introducing spin coupled transport. The resulting continuum model spectrum shows two Kramers doublet transport channels with a gap proportional to the SOC. Each doubly degenerate channel satisfies time reversal symmetry, nevertheless, a bias chooses a transport…
Recently, the chiral-induced spin selectivity in molecular systems has attracted extensive interest among the scientific communities. Here, we investigate the effect of the gate voltage on spin-selective electron transport through the $α$-helical peptide/protein molecule contacted by two nonmagnetic electrodes. Based on an effective model Hamiltonian and the Landauer-Büttiker formula, we calculate the conductance and the spin polarization under an external electric field which is perpendicular to the helix axis of the $α$-helical peptide/protein molecule. Our results indicate that both the mag…
Weyl semimetals are gapless three-dimensional topological materials where two bands touch at even number of points in the Brillouin zone. In this work we study a zincblende lattice model realizing a time-reversal invariant Weyl semimetal. The bulk dynamics is decribed by twelve helical Weyl nodes. Surface states form a peculiar quasi two-dimensional helical metal fundamentally different from the Dirac form typical for topological insulators. Allowed direction of velocity and spin of low-energy surface excitations are locked to the cubic symmetry axes. The studied system illustrates general pro…
It is widely admitted that the helical conformation of certain chiral molecules may induce a sizable spin selectivity observed in experiments. Spin selectivity arises as a result of the interplay between a helicity-induced spin-orbit coupling and electric dipole fields in the molecule. From the theoretical point of view, different phenomena might affect the spin dynamics in helical molecules, such as quantum dephasing, dissipation and the role of metallic contacts. Previous studies neglected the local deformation of the molecule about the carrier thus far, but this assumption seems unrealistic…
The strength of the spin-orbit interaction relevant to transport in a low dimensional structure depends critically on the relative geometrical arrangement of current carrying orbitals. Recent tight-binding orbital models for spin transport in DNA-like molecules, have surmised that the band spin-orbit coupling arises from the particular angular relations between orbitals of neighboring bases on the helical chain. Such arrangement could be probed by inducing deformations in the molecule in a conductive probe AFM type setup, as it was recently reported by Kiran, Cohen and Naaman\cite{Kiran}. Here…
Organic materials are known to feature long spin-diffusion times, originating in a generally small spin-orbit coupling observed in these systems. From that perspective, chiral molecules acting as efficient spin selectors pose a puzzle, that attracted a lot of attention during the recent years. Here we revisit the physical origins of chiral-induced spin selectivity (CISS), and propose a simple analytic minimal model to describe it. The model treats a chiral molecule as an anisotropic wire with molecular dipole moments aligned arbitrarily with respect to the wire's axes, and is therefore quite g…
The helical distribution of the electronic density in chiral molecules, such as DNA and bacteriorhodopsin, has been suggested to induce a spin-orbit coupling interaction that may lead to the so-called chirality-induced spin selectivity (CISS) effect. Key ingredients for the theoretical modelling are, in this context, the helically shaped potential of the molecule and, concomitantly, a Rashba-like spin-orbit coupling due to the appearance of a magnetic field in the electron reference frame. Symmetries of these models clearly play a crucial role in explaining the observed effect, but a thorough …
The chiral induced spin selectivity (CISS) in layers of helical molecules gained considerable attention in the emerging field of spintronics, because the effect enables spin-filter devices under ambient conditions. Several theoretical studies have been carried out to explain this effect on a microscopic scale, but the origin of the effect is still controversial. In particular the role of spin-flip scattering during electron transport is an open issue. In this study we describe the electron and spin transport by rate equations including spin-dependent losses and spin-flip scattering. We reduce …
Recent topological band theory distinguishes electronic band insulators with respect to various symmetries and topological invariants, most commonly, the time reversal symmetry and the $\rm Z_2$ invariant. The interface of two topologically distinct insulators hosts a unique class of electronic states -- the helical states, which shortcut the gapped bulk and exhibit spin-momentum locking. The magic and so far elusive property of the helical electrons, known as topological protection, prevents them from coherent backscattering as long as the underlying symmetry is preserved. Here we present an …
Magnetization reversal mechanism of double-helix nanowires probed by dark-field magneto-optical Kerr effect
TU Wien（维也纳工业大学）；University of Loughborough（拉夫堡大学）；Instituto de Nanociencia y Materiales de Aragón, CSIC-Universidad de Zaragoza（阿拉贡纳米科学与材料研究所，西班牙科学理事会-萨拉戈萨大学）；Synchrotron SOLEIL（SOLEIL同步辐射中心）；University of Vienna（维也纳大学）；Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids（马克斯·普朗克固体化学物理研究所）；Hiroshima University（广岛大学）
The interplay between bulk spin-orbit coupling and electron-electron interactions produces umklapp scattering in the helical edge states of a two-dimensional topological insulator. If the chemical potential is at the Dirac point, umklapp scattering can open a gap in the edge state spectrum even if the system is time-reversal invariant. We determine the zero-energy bound states at the interfaces between a section of a helical liquid which is gapped out by the superconducting proximity effect and a section gapped out by umklapp scattering. We show that these interfaces pin charges which are mult…
We propose a single-particle source which emits into the helical edge states of a two-dimensional quantum spin Hall insulator. Without breaking time-reversal symmetry, this source acts like a pair of noiseless single-electron emitters which each inject separately into a chiral edge state. By locally breaking time-reversal symmetry, the source becomes a proper single-particle emitter which exhibits shot noise. Due to its intrinsic helicity, this system can be used to produce time-bin entangled pairs of electrons in a controlled manner. The shot noise created by the source is related to the conc…
Square-root topological phases have been discussed mainly for systems with chiral symmetry. In this paper, we analyze the topology of the squared Hamiltonian for systems preserving the time-reversal and particle-hole symmetry. Our analysis elucidates that two-dimensional systems of class CII host helical edge states due to the nontrivial topology of the squared Hamiltonian in contrast to the absence of ordinary topological phases. The emergence of the helical edge modes is demonstrated by analyzing a toy model. We also show the emergence of surface states induced by the non-trivial topology of…
A two-dimensional time-reversal symmetric topological superconductor is a fully gapped system possessing a helical Majorana mode on the edges. This helical Majorana edge mode (HMEM), which is a Kramer's pair of two chiral Majorana edge modes in the opposite propagating directions, is robust under time-reversal symmetry protection. We propose a feasible setup and accessible measurement to provide the preliminary step of the HMEM realization by studying superconducting antiferromagnetic quantum spin Hall insulators. Since this antiferromagnetic topological insulator hosts a helical electron edge…
Topological insulators, along with Chern insulators and Quantum Hall insulator phases, are considered as paradigms for symmetry protected topological phases of matter. This article reports the experimental realization of the time-reversal invariant helical edge-modes in bilayer graphene/monolayer WSe$_2$-based heterostructures -- a phase generally considered as a precursor to the field of generic topological insulators. Our observation of this elusive phase depended crucially on our ability to create mesoscopic devices comprising both a moiré superlattice potential and strong spin-orbit coupli…
Helical edge states appear at the surface of two dimensional topological insulators and are characterized by spin up traveling in one direction and the spin down traveling in the opposite direction. Such states are protected by time reversal symmetry and no backscattering due to scalar impurities can occur. However, magnetic impurities break time reversal symmetry and lead to backscattering. Often their presence is unintentional, but in some cases they are introduced into the sample to open up gaps in the spectrum. We investigate the influence of random impurities on helical edge states, speci…
Topological insulators are promising for spintronics and related technologies due to their spin-momentum-locked edge states, which are protected by time-reversal symmetry. In addition to the unique fundamental physics that arises in these systems, the potential technological applications of these protected states has also been driving TI research over the past decade. However, most known topological insulator materials naturally contain spinful nuclei, and their hyperfine coupling to helical edge states intrinsically breaks time-reversal symmetry, removing the topological protection and enabli…
We establish quasi-two-dimensional thin films of iron-based superconductors (FeSCs) as a new high-temperature platform for hosting intrinsic time-reversal-invariant helical topological superconductivity (TSC). Based on the combination of Dirac surface state and bulk extended $s$-wave pairing, our theory should be directly applicable to a large class of experimentally established FeSCs, opening a new TSC paradigm. In particular, an applied electric field serves as a "topological switch" for helical Majorana edge modes in FeSC thin films, allowing for an experimentally feasible design of gate-co…
Two-dimensional superconductors with time-reversal symmetry have a Z_2 topological invariant, that distinguishes phases with and without helical Majorana edge states. We study the topological phase transition in a class-DIII network model, and show that it is associated with a metal-insulator transition for the thermal conductance of the helical superconductor. The localization length diverges at the transition with critical exponent nu approx 2.0, about twice the known value in a chiral superconductor.
Highly spin selective transport of electrons through a helically shaped electrostatic potential is demonstrated in the frame of a minimal model approach. The effect is significant even in the case of weak spin-orbit coupling. Two main factors determine the selectivity, an unconventional Rashba- like spin-orbit interaction, reflecting the helical symmetry of the system, and a weakly dispersive electronic band of the helical system. The weak electronic coupling, associated with the small dispersion, leads to a low mobility of the charges in the system and allows even weak spin-orbit interactions…
Topological insulators (TIs) are a novel class of materials with nontrivial surface or edge states. Time-reversal symmetry (TRS) protected TIs are characterized by the Z2 topological invariant and their helical property becomes lost in an applied magnetic field. Currently there exist extensive efforts searching for TIs that are protected by symmetries other than TRS. Here we show, a topological phase characterized by a spin Chern topological invariant is realized in an inverted electron-hole bilayer engineered from indium arsenide-gallium antimonide (InAs/GaSb) semiconductors which retains rob…
A single pair of helical edge states as realized at the boundary of a quantum spin Hall insulator is known to be robust against elastic single particle backscattering as long as time reversal symmetry is preserved. However, there is no symmetry preventing inelastic backscattering as brought about by phonons in the presence of Rashba spin orbit coupling. In this letter, we show that the quantized conductivity of a single channel of helical Dirac electrons is protected even against this inelastic mechanism to leading order. We further demonstrate that this result remains valid even when Coulomb …
Topological electric quadrupole is a recently proposed concept that extends the theory of electric polarization of crystals to higher orders. Such a quadrupole phase supports topological states localized on both edges and corners. In this work, we show that in a quadrupole phase of honeycomb lattice, topological helical edge states and pseudo-spin-polarized corner states appear by making use of a pseudo-spin degree of freedom related to point group symmetry. Furthermore, we argue that a general condition for emergence of helical edge states in a (pseudo-)spinful quadrupole phase is mirror or t…
Two-particle backscattering in time-reversal invariant interacting helical electron systems can lead to the formation of quasiparticles with charge $e/2$. We propose a way to detect such states by means of the Josephson effect in the presence of proximity-induced superconductivity. In this case, the existence of $e/2$ charges leads to an $8 π$-periodic component of the Josephson current which can be identified through measurement of Shapiro steps in Josephson junctions. In particular, we show that even when there is weak explicit time-reversal symmetry breaking, which causes the two-particle b…
The observation of chiral-induced spin selectivity (CISS) in biological molecules still awaits a full theoretical explanation. In a recent Rapid Communication, Varela et al. [Phys. Rev. B 101, 241410(R) (2020)] presented a model for electron transport in biological molecules by tunneling in the presence of spin-orbit interactions. They then claimed that their model produces a strong spin asymmetry due to the intrinsic atomic spin-orbit strength. As their Hamiltonian is time-reversal symmetric, this result contradicts a theorem by Bardarson [J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 41, 405203 (2008)], which st…
We develop a theory for manipulating the effective band structure of interacting helical edge states realized on the boundary of two-dimensional time-reversal symmetric topological insulators. For sufficiently strong interaction, an interacting edge band gap develops, spontaneously breaking time-reversal symmetry on the edge. The resulting spin texture, as well as the energy of the the time-reversal breaking gaps, can be tuned by an external moiré potential (i.e., a superlattice potential). Remarkably, we establish that by tuning the strength and period of the potential, the interacting gaps c…
The edge states of a two-dimensional quantum spin Hall (QSH) insulator form a one-dimensional helical metal which is responsible for the transport property of the QSH insulator. Conceptually, such a one-dimensional helical metal can be attached to any scattering region as the usual metallic leads. We study the analytical property of the scattering matrix for such a conceptual multiterminal scattering problem in the presence of time reversal invariance. As a result, several theorems on the connectivity property of helical edge states in two-dimensional QSH systems as well as surface states of t…
The helical edge states of time-reversal invariant two-dimensional topological insulators are protected against backscattering in idealized models. In more realistic scenarios with a shallow confining potential at the sample boundary, additional strongly interacting edge states may arise, that could interfere with the topological protection of edge conduction. We find that interaction effects within the reconstructed edges are well described by the Luttinger liquid model. While interactions between this Luttinger liquid and the helical edge states can in principle give rise to dynamical spin p…
Electrically controllable valence-conduction band reversals in helical trilayer graphene
Weizmann Institute of Science（魏茨曼科学研究所）；Massachusetts Institute of Technology（麻省理工学院）；University of Texas at Dallas（德克萨斯大学达拉斯分校）；Stanford University（斯坦福大学）；SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory（斯坦福直线加速器中心）；National Institute for Materials Science（国立材料研究所）
We theoretically analyze spin filtering in two-terminal systems, induced by the spin-orbit interaction (SOI), as a possible origin of the ``chirality-induced spin selectivity'' (CISS) effect observed experimentally in chiral molecules, such as DNA. Due to Bardarson's theorem, spin filtering cannot be realized in a molecule containing one orbital-channel. However, when two orbitals are involved, SOI can induce spin filtering in a molecule coupled to two terminals without braking time-reversal symmetry. In particular, we provide an example of a $4 \times 4$ reflection matrix for a spinful electr…
We report low-temperature transport measurements in strained InAs/Ga0.68In0.32Sb quantum wells, which supports time-reversal symmetry-protected helical edge states. The temperature and bias voltage dependence of the helical edge conductance for devices of various sizes are consistent with the theoretical expectation of a weakly interacting helical edge state. Moreover, we found that the magnetoresistance of the helical edge states is related to the edge interaction effect and the disorder strength.
Two-dimensional topological insulators are characterized by gapped bulk states and gapless helical edge states, i.e. time-reversal symmetric edge states accommodating a pair of counter-propagating electrons. An external magnetic field breaks the time-reversal symmetry. What happens to the edge states in this case? In this paper we analyze the edge-state spectrum and longitudinal conductance in a two-dimensional topological insulator subject to a quantizing magnetic field. We show that the helical edge states exist also in this case. The strong magnetic field modifies the group velocities of th…
Understanding chiral induced spin-selectivity (CISS), resulting from charge transport through helical systems, has recently inspired many experimental and theoretical efforts, but is still object of intense debate. In order to assess the nature of CISS, we propose to focus on electron-transfer processes occurring at the single-molecule level. We design simple magnetic resonance experiments, exploiting a qubit as a highly sensitive and coherent magnetic sensor, to provide clear signatures of the acceptor polarization. Moreover, we show that information could even be obtained from time-resolved …
We investigate the topological phase derived by time-reversal breaking fields in a nonsymmorphic symmetry-protected two-dimensional Dirac semimetal. When the nonsymmorphic symmetry is preserved even in the presence of the field, the two-dimensional electronic states change into two distinct topological phases with the insulating gap. One phase is well-known as quantum Hall states with chiral edge modes accompanying the Hall current, but the other one is an unconventional topological phase with helical edge modes in the absence of time-reversal symmetry.
The thermoelectric properties of a three terminal quantum spin Hall (QSH) sample are examined. Inherent helicity of the QSH sample helps to generate a large charge power efficiently. Along with charge the system can be designed to work as a highly efficient spin heat engine too. The advantage of a helical over a chiral sample is that, while a multiterminal quantum Hall sample can only work as a quantum heat engine due to broken time reversal(TR) symmetry, a multiterminal QSH system can work effectively both as a charge/spin heat engine as well as a charge/spin refrigerator as TR symmetry is pr…
We formulate the lattice version of the three-dimensional SU(2) Landau level problem with time reversal invariance. By taking a Landau-type gauge, the system is reduced into the one-dimensional SU(2) Harper equation characterized by a periodic spin-dependent gauge potential. The surface spectra indicate the spatial separation of helical states with opposite eigenvalues of the lattice helicty operator. The band topology is investigated from both the analysis of the boundary helical Fermi surfaces and the calculation of the Z2-index based on the bulk wavefunctions. The transition between a 3D we…
Time-reversal symmetry and rotational invariance in spin space characterize usual non-magnetic conductors. These symmetries give rise, at least, to four-fold degenerate multiplets which, by definition, exhibit a null total spin-momentum helicity. Thus, preventing a net spin transport. A proper choice of geometry along with the intrinsic symmetry of the Bychkov-Rashba spin-orbit interaction can be exploited to effectively reduce these two spin-related symmetries to the timereversal one. It is shown that, in an ideal geometry, a quantum dot with contacts having a specific geometry exhibit a sing…
Recent research on disorder effects in topological phases in quasicrystalline systems has received much attention. In this work, by numerically computing the (spin) Bott index and the thermal conductance, we reveal the effects of disorder on a class D chiral topological superconductor and a class DIII time-reversal-invariant topological superconductor in a two-dimensional Ammann-Beenker tiling quasicrystalline lattice. We demonstrate that both the topologically protected chiral and helical Majorana edge modes are robust against weak disorder in the quasicrystalline lattice. More fascinating is…
The quantum spin Hall (QSH) effect is the property of a new state of matter which preserves time-reversal, has an energy gap in the bulk, but has topologically robust gapless states at the edge. Recently, it has been shown that HgTe quantum wells realize this novel effect. In this work, we start from realistic tight-binding models and demonstrate the existence of the helical edge states in HgTe quantum wells and calculate their physical properties. We also show that 3d HgTe is a topological insulator under uniaxial strain, and show that the surface states are described by single-component mass…
Chirality-induced spin selectivity without intrinsic spin-orbit coupling: Role of current-induced molecular orbital moment
The Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences（捷克科学院物理研究所）；Institute of Physics, Johannes Gutenberg-University（约翰内斯·古腾堡大学物理研究所）；Peter Grünberg Institut (PGI-6), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH（于利希研究中心彼得·格林伯格研究所（PGI-6））
