Renormalization group approach for the scattering off a single Rashba impurity in a helical liquid

Abstract

The occurrence of two-particle inelastic backscattering has been conjectured in helical edge states of topological insulators and is expected to alter transport. In this Letter, by using a renormalization group approach, we provide a microscopic derivation of this process, in the presence of a time-reversal invariant Rashba impurity potential. Unlike previous approaches to the problem, we are able to prove that such an effect only occurs in the presence of electron-electron interactions. Furthermore, we find that the linear conductance as a function of temperature exhibits a crossover between two scaling behaviors: $T^{4K}$ for $K>1/2$ and $T^{8K-2}$ for $K<1/2$, with $K$ the Luttinger parameter.

4 pages, 2 figures. Corresponds to published version

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Cited by in corpus (21)

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• Quantum interference and Aharonov-Bohm oscillations in topological insulators
• Conductivity of a generic helical liquid
• Spin-helical transport in normal and superconducting topological insulators
• Mesoscopic transport in two-dimensional topological insulators
• Low-Temperature Conductivity of Weakly Interacting Quantum Spin Hall Edges in Strained-Layer InAs/GaInSb
• Polarized heat current generated by quantum pumping in two-dimensional topological insulators
• Two-dimensional topological insulator state in double HgTe quantum well
• Levitons in helical liquids with Rashba spin-orbit coupling probed by a superconducting contact
• Backscattering in a helical liquid induced by Rashba spin-orbit coupling and electron interactions: locality, symmetry, and cutoff aspects
• Finite frequency noise in a quantum point contact between helical edge states
• Coulomb drag between helical Luttinger liquids
• Interplay between Rashba interaction and electromagnetic field in the edge states of a 2D topological insulator
• Edge stability and edge quantum criticality in 2D interacting topological insulators
• Living on the edge: Topology, electrostatics and disorder
• Effects of disorder on electron tunneling through helical edge states
• Quantum impurity in a Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid: continuous-time quantum Monte Carlo approach
• Localization of trivial edge states in InAs/GaSb composite quantum wells
• Characterization of helical Luttinger liquids in microwave stepped-impedance edge resonators
• Electronic thermal conductivity in 2D topological insulator in a HgTe quantum well
• Nonequilibrium Spectroscopy of Topological Edge Liquids