Zitterbewegung-mediated RKKY coupling in topological insulator thin films
The dynamics of itinerant electrons in topological insulator (TI) thin films is investigated using a multi-band decomposition approach. We show that the electron trajectory in the 2D film is anisotropic and confined within a characteristic region. Remarkably, the confinement and anisotropy of the el...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2020-01-01
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| Series: | New Journal of Physics |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/ab95df |
| _version_ | 1797750216432025600 |
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| author | Cong Son Ho Seng Ghee Tan Zhuo Bin Siu Mansoor B A Jalil |
| author_facet | Cong Son Ho Seng Ghee Tan Zhuo Bin Siu Mansoor B A Jalil |
| author_sort | Cong Son Ho |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The dynamics of itinerant electrons in topological insulator (TI) thin films is investigated using a multi-band decomposition approach. We show that the electron trajectory in the 2D film is anisotropic and confined within a characteristic region. Remarkably, the confinement and anisotropy of the electron trajectory are associated with the topological phase transition of the TI system, which can be controlled by tuning the film thickness and/or applying an in-plane magnetic field. Moreover, persistent electron wavepacket oscillation can be achieved in the TI thin film system at the phase transition point, which may assist in the experimental detection of the jitter motion (Zitterbewegung). The implications of the microscopic picture of electron motion in explaining other transport-related effects, e.g., electron-mediated RKKY coupling in the TI thin film system, are also discussed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:30:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5e46786a24c54d99a3bd6d1aea4b7578 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1367-2630 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:30:28Z |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | New Journal of Physics |
| spelling | doaj.art-5e46786a24c54d99a3bd6d1aea4b75782023-08-08T15:32:24ZengIOP PublishingNew Journal of Physics1367-26302020-01-0122707301910.1088/1367-2630/ab95dfZitterbewegung-mediated RKKY coupling in topological insulator thin filmsCong Son Ho0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5608-0113Seng Ghee Tan1Zhuo Bin Siu2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7056-937XMansoor B A Jalil3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9513-8680Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore , 4 Engineering Drive 3, Singapore 117576, Singapore; Chemical and Quantum Physics, School of Science, RMIT University , Melbourne, AustraliaDepartment of Optoelectric Physics, Chinese Culture University , 55 Hwa-Kang Road, Yang-Ming-Shan, Taipei 11114, TaiwanDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore , 4 Engineering Drive 3, Singapore 117576, SingaporeDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore , 4 Engineering Drive 3, Singapore 117576, SingaporeThe dynamics of itinerant electrons in topological insulator (TI) thin films is investigated using a multi-band decomposition approach. We show that the electron trajectory in the 2D film is anisotropic and confined within a characteristic region. Remarkably, the confinement and anisotropy of the electron trajectory are associated with the topological phase transition of the TI system, which can be controlled by tuning the film thickness and/or applying an in-plane magnetic field. Moreover, persistent electron wavepacket oscillation can be achieved in the TI thin film system at the phase transition point, which may assist in the experimental detection of the jitter motion (Zitterbewegung). The implications of the microscopic picture of electron motion in explaining other transport-related effects, e.g., electron-mediated RKKY coupling in the TI thin film system, are also discussed.https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/ab95dfRKKYZitterbewegungtopological insulator |
| spellingShingle | Cong Son Ho Seng Ghee Tan Zhuo Bin Siu Mansoor B A Jalil Zitterbewegung-mediated RKKY coupling in topological insulator thin films New Journal of Physics RKKY Zitterbewegung topological insulator |
| title | Zitterbewegung-mediated RKKY coupling in topological insulator thin films |
| title_full | Zitterbewegung-mediated RKKY coupling in topological insulator thin films |
| title_fullStr | Zitterbewegung-mediated RKKY coupling in topological insulator thin films |
| title_full_unstemmed | Zitterbewegung-mediated RKKY coupling in topological insulator thin films |
| title_short | Zitterbewegung-mediated RKKY coupling in topological insulator thin films |
| title_sort | zitterbewegung mediated rkky coupling in topological insulator thin films |
| topic | RKKY Zitterbewegung topological insulator |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/ab95df |
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