Search arXivSearch

arXiv · 1409.1356

Evidence for topological surface states in metallic single crystals of Bi2Te3

Abstract

Bi2Te3 is a member of a new class of materials known as topological insulators which are supposed to be insulating in the bulk and conducting on the surface. However experimental verification of the surface states has been difficult in electrical transport measurements due to a conducting bulk. We report low temperature magnetotransport measurements on single crystal samples of Bi2Te3. We observe metallic character in our samples and large and linear magnetoresistance from 1.5 K to 290 K with prominent Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillations whose traces persist upto 20 K. Even though our samples are metallic we are able to obtain a Berry phase close to the value of π expected for Dirac fermions of the topological surface states. This indicates that we might have obtained evidence for the topological surface states in metallic single crystals of Bi2Te3. Other physical quantities obtained from the analysis of the SdH oscillations are also in close agreement with those reported for the topological surface states. The linear magnetoresistance observed in our sample, which is considered as a signature of the Dirac fermions of the surface states, lends further credence to the existence of topological surface states.

Explore related subjects

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Sourabh Barua, K. P. Rajeev, Anjan K. Gupta. 2014-09-04. Evidence for topological surface states in metallic single crystals of Bi2Te3. https://doi.org/10.1088/0953-8984%2F27%2F1%2F015601

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

Exotic Spin Excitation Continuum in a Weakly Coupled Quantum Chainsaw Antiferromagnet

Collective motions in strongly interacting magnets involve many spins and are often described in terms of integer-spin excitations. However, in certain cases, the collective motion can behave as if these integer excitations break apart into smaller, particle-like entities with unusual properties. Such fractionalized excitations in quantum magnets are commonly associated either with topological order in two dimensions or with criticality in one dimension. It remains unclear how these distinct mechanisms are connected across a dimensional crossover. Here we investigate the Ti-based quantum antiferromagnet, $Cs_{8}LiNa_{3}Ti_{12}F_{48}$, in which $Ti^{3+}$ ($3d^{1}$, $S=1/2$) ions interact antiferromagnetically within distorted kagome planes. Our inelastic neutron scattering study on a single crystal reveals a frustrated network of weakly coupled spin-$1/2$ chainsaws, realizing a regime of dimensional frustration in which interchain couplings fail to establish coherent two-dimensional order. The magnetic excitation spectrum exhibits a strong continuum spanning the full measured momentum and energy phase space. In addition, the dynamic spin correlation function displays rod-like scattering in momentum space, indicating a quasi-one-dimensional nature of the magnetic correlations. These results point to fractionalized excitations with intrinsically directional character, demonstrating that signatures of one-dimensional criticality can persist within a two-dimensional lattice. Our findings establish anisotropic fractionalization as a distinct organizing principle for quantum-disordered states.

cond-mat.str-el

Quantum-interference-driven orbital density wave and high-temperature superconductivity in trilayer nickelates

Intertwined charge-density-wave (CDW) and spin-density-wave (SDW) orders are a hallmark of high-temperature superconducting multilayer nickelates. In trilayer La4Ni3O_{10}, charge correlations develop at temperatures above the onset of long-range spin order, and the characteristic ordering wavevectors satisfy $Q_{cdw} \approx 2Q_{sdw}$. Here, using a density-wave equation with vertex corrections, we show that quantum interference between short-range SDW fluctuations at $q \approx Q_{sdw}$ on the outer NiO2 layers generates an inter-outer-layer bond order at $Q_{cdw} \approx 2 Q_{sdw}$. This bond order induces a pronounced inner-layer-centered orbital order, with antiphase modulations of the Ni $d_{3z^2-r^2}$ and $d_{x^2-y^2}$ occupations, producing strong orbital polarization but only weak total charge modulation. This intertwined bond-and-orbital order accounts for the layer-selective electronic reconstruction inferred from NMR/NQR and is consistent with Raman spectroscopy and scanning tunnelling microscopy measurements. The same orbital and spin fluctuations also cooperate to stabilize $s_{\pm}$-wave superconductivity through $M_z$ mirror-parity selection rules. Our results provide a unified microscopic framework for intertwined density-wave order and high-Tc superconductivity in multilayer nickelates.

cond-mat.str-el

Model Fractional Quantum Hall States on Lattices: Exact Parent Hamiltonians and Routes to Realization

Recent advances in engineered quantum platforms have enabled the realization of bosonic Laughlin states at $ν=1/2$ and brought non-Abelian topological phases within experimental reach. A central theoretical challenge is to develop a unified framework connecting lattice fractional quantum Hall (FQH) model states, exact parent Hamiltonians, and experimentally accessible interactions. We systematically construct Hermitian parent Hamiltonians for which continuum lowest Landau level (LLL) model states sampled on lattice sites are exact zero modes. Using these model manifolds as quantitative references, we find that, within the projected lattice LLL at the flux densities studied, short-range density interactions stabilize Laughlin ground-state manifolds at $ν=1/3$ and $1/4$, while two-body onsite repulsion supports a Moore--Read triplet at $ν=1$. Full multiband calculations reveal a sharp contrast: the Laughlin manifolds remain robust against interband mixing on the studied tori, whereas the Moore--Read triplet becomes less spectrally isolated and eventually undergoes a level crossing with competing states near the interband scale. Our framework provides a theoretical foundation for using lattice model states to guide the search for experimentally accessible Abelian and non-Abelian FQH states.

cond-mat.str-el