Phonon spectrum and bonding properties of Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$: Role of strong spin-orbit interaction

Abstract

Phonon dispersions of one typical three-dimensional topological insulator Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$ have been studied within density functional theory. The soft modes of two acoustic branches along the $Z$$-$$F$ and $\Gamma$$-$$F$ directions within the pure local density approximation will transit to show imaginary frequency oscillating after including the spin-orbit interaction (SOI). Similar phenomenon has also been observed for Bi${}_2$Te${}_3$. Besides, we have found that the weak van der Waals forces between two Se1 layers in Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$ are strengthened by turning on the SOI.

4 pages, 5 figures

References in corpus (3)

• Discovery (theoretical prediction and experimental observation) of a large-gap topological-insulator class with spin-polarized single-Dirac-cone on the surface
• Ultrafast carrier and phonon dynamics in Bi2Se3 crystals
• Helical fluctuations in the Raman response of the topological insulator Bi2Se3

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