Electron-phonon interaction on the surface of a 3D topological insulator

Abstract

We analyze the role of a Rayleigh surface phonon mode in the electron-phonon interaction at the surface of a 3D topological insulator. A strong renormalization of the phonon dispersion, leading eventually to the disappearance of Rayleigh phonons, is ruled out in the ideal case of a continuum long-wavelength limit, which is only justified if the surface is clean and defect free. The absence of backscattering for Dirac electrons at the Fermi surface is partly responsible for the reduced influence of the electron-phonon interaction. A pole in the dielectric response function due to the Rayleigh phonon dispersion could drive the electron-electron interaction attractive at low frequencies. However, the average pairing interaction within the weak coupling approach is found to be too small to induce a surface superconducting instability.

8 pages, 4 figures

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• Surface vibrational modes of the topological insulator Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$ observed by Raman spectroscopy
• Valley Acoustoelectric Effect
• Weakly Interacting Topological Insulators: Quantum Criticality and Renormalization Group Approach
• Nanoscale Surface Dynamics of Bi${}_2$Te${}_3$(111): Observation of a Prominent Surface Acoustic Wave and the Role of van der Waals Interactions
• Surface Phonons in the Topological Insulators Bi2Se3 and Bi2Te3
• A supervised learning algorithm for interacting topological insulators based on local curvature
• Size Constraints on Majorana Beamsplitter Interferometer: Majorana Coupling and Surface-Bulk Scattering
• Quantum critical point in the superconducting transition on the surface of topological insulator
• Acoustomagnetoelectric effect in two-dimensional materials: Geometric resonances and Weiss oscillations
• Direct observation of discommensurate charge density wave modulation in the quasi-1D Weyl semimetal candidate NbTe${}_4$
• Phonon-mediated intrinsic topological superconductivity in Fermi arcs
• Phase diagram and phonon-induced backscattering in topological insulator nanowires
• Thermal topological phase transition in SnTe from \emph{ab-initio} calculations
• Substrate-limited helical edge states
• Triplet superconductivity in 3D Dirac semimetal due to exchange interaction
• Chiral universality class of the normal-superconducting and the exciton condensation transition on the surface of topological insulator
• Localized interfacial Phonon Modes at the Electronic Axion Domain Wall