One-dimensional Dirac electrons on the surface of weak topological insulators

Abstract

We show that a class of weak three-dimensional topological insulators feature one-dimensional Dirac electrons on their surfaces. Their hallmark is a line-like energy dispersion along certain directions of the surface Brillouin zone. These one-dimensional Dirac line degeneracies are topologically protected by a symmetry that we refer to as in-plane time-reversal invariance. We show how this invariance leads to Dirac lines in the surface spectrum of stacked Kane-Mele systems and more general models for weak three-dimensional topological insulators.

arXiv comment8 pages, 7 figures

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Cited by in corpus (6)

• Discovery of switchable weak topological insulator state in quasi-one-dimensional bismuth iodide
• Symmetry-based indicators for topological Bogoliubov-de Gennes Hamiltonians
• The hybrid-order topology of weak topological insulators
• Distinct multiple fermionic states in a single topological metal
• Engineering axion insulator phase in superlattices with inversion symmetry breaking
• Synthesizing Weyl semimetals in weak topological insulator and topological crystalline insulator multilayers