Spin-dependent thermoelectric transport in HgTe/CdTe quantum wells

Abstract

We analyze thermally induced spin and charge transport in HgTe/CdTe quantum wells on the basis of the numerical non-equilibrium Green's function technique in the linear response regime. In the topologically non-trivial regime, we find a clear signature of the gap of the edge states due to their finite overlap from opposite sample boundaries -- both in the charge Seebeck and spin Nernst signal. We are able to fully understand the physical origin of the thermoelectric transport signatures of edge and bulk states based on simple analytical models. Interestingly, we derive that the spin Nernst signal is related to the spin Hall conductance by a Mott-like relation which is exact to all orders in the temperature difference between the warm and the cold reservoir.

11 pages, 13 figures, submitted to PRB

References in corpus (8)

• Quantum Spin Hall Effect and Topological Phase Transition in HgTe Quantum Wells
• Topological Insulators with Inversion Symmetry
• Dissipationless Quantum Spin Current at Room Temperature
• The Quantum Spin Hall Effect: Theory and Experiment
• The Helical Liquid and the Edge of Quantum Spin Hall Systems
• Universal Scaling Behavior of Anomalous Hall Effect and Anomalous Nernst Effect in Itinerant Ferromagnets
• Finite size effects of helical edge states in HgTe/CdTe quantum wells
• Oscillating Nernst-Ettingshausen effect in Bismuth across the quantum limit

Cited by in corpus (5)

• Heat diode and engine based on quantum Hall edge states
• Nonlinear spin-thermoelectric transport in two-dimensional topological insulators
• Anomalous thermospin effect in the low-buckled Dirac materials
• Spin-dependent thermoelectric effects in transport through a nanoscopic junction involving spin impurity
• Thermoelectric cooling properties of a quantum Hall Corbino device