Geodesic scattering by surface deformations of a topological insulator

Abstract

We consider the classical ballistic dynamics of massless electrons on the conducting surface of a three-dimensional topological insulator, influenced by random variations of the surface height. By solving the geodesic equation and the Boltzmann equation in the limit of shallow deformations, we obtain the scattering cross section and the conductivity σ, for arbitrary anisotropic dispersion relation. At large surface electron densities n this geodesic scattering mechanism (with σ propto sqrt{n}) is more effective at limiting the surface conductivity than electrostatic potential scattering.

9 pages, 5 figures

References in corpus (8)

• The electronic properties of graphene
• Discovery (theoretical prediction and experimental observation) of a large-gap topological-insulator class with spin-polarized single-Dirac-cone on the surface
• A tight-binding approach to uniaxial strain in graphene
• The quantum spin Hall effect and topological insulators
• Quantum transport of massless Dirac fermions in graphene
• Disorder and Electronic Transport in Graphene
• The surface states of topological insulators - Dirac fermion in curved two dimensional spaces
• Crossover from quantum to Boltzmann transport in graphene

Cited by in corpus (12)

• Novel effects of strains in graphene and other two dimensional materials
• Random-matrix theory of Majorana fermions and topological superconductors
• Current flow paths in deformed graphene: from quantum transport to classical trajectories in curved space
• Spin connection and boundary states in a topological insulator
• Effect of chiral symmetry on chaotic scattering from Majorana zero modes
• Nernst effect beyond the relaxation-time approximation
• Landau levels in curved space realized in strained graphene
• Anisotropic optics and gravitational lensing of tilted Weyl fermions
• Geodesic geometry of 2+1-D Dirac materials subject to artificial, quenched gravitational singularities
• Local and Tunable Geometric Phase of Dirac Fermions in a Topological Junction
• Emergent curved space and gravitational lensing in quantum materials
• Berry phases and zero-modes in toroidal topological insulator