Noise-induced backscattering in a quantum-spin-Hall edge

Abstract

Time-reversal symmetry suppresses electron backscattering in a quantum-spin-Hall edge, yielding quantized conductance at zero temperature. Understanding the dominant corrections in finite-temperature experiments remains an unsettled issue. We study a novel mechanism for conductance suppression: backscattering caused by incoherent electromagnetic noise. Specifically, we show that an electric potential fluctuating randomly in time can backscatter electrons inelastically without constraints faced by electron-electron interactions. We quantify noise-induced corrections to the dc conductance in various regimes and propose an experiment to test this scenario.

5+3 pages, 1 figure; shortened version to appear in PRL, added references

References in corpus (31)

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• $Z_2$ Topological Order and the Quantum Spin Hall Effect
• Quantum Spin Hall Insulator State in HgTe Quantum Wells
• Quantum Spin Hall Effect
• Nonlocal edge state transport in the quantum spin Hall state
• Observation of the Quantum Spin Hall Effect up to 100 Kelvin in a Monolayer Crystal
• The Helical Liquid and the Edge of Quantum Spin Hall Systems
• Experimental demonstration of the topological surface states protected by the time-reversal symmetry
• Edge conduction in monolayer WTe2
• Stability of the quantum spin Hall effect: effects of interactions, disorder, and Z_2 topology
• STM imaging of electronic waves on the surface of Bi${}_2$Te${}_3$: topologically protected surface states and hexagonal warping effects
• Observation of Quantum Spin Hall States in InAs/GaSb Bilayers under Broken Time-Reversal Symmetry
• Kondo effect in the helical edge liquid of the quantum spin Hall state
• Helical edge resistance introduced by charge puddles
• Inelastic electron backscattering in a generic helical edge channel
• Spin transport in graphene/transition metal dichalcogenide heterostructures
• Observation of a Helical Luttinger-Liquid in InAs/GaSb Quantum Spin Hall Edges
• Conductance of a helical edge liquid coupled to a magnetic impurity
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• Resistance of helical edges formed in a semiconductor heterostructure
• Edge Transport in the Trivial Phase of InAs/GaSb
• Conductivity of a generic helical liquid
• Localization at the Edge of 2D Topological Insulator by Kondo Impurities with Random Anisotropies
• Nuclear-spin-induced localization of the edge states in two-dimensional topological insulators
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Cited by in corpus (33)

• Canted Spin Texture and Quantum Spin Hall Effect in WTe2
• Failure of conductance quantization in two-dimensional topological insulators due to non-magnetic impurities
• Classification of topological insulators and superconductors out of equilibrium
• Helical Liquids in Semiconductors
• Fragility of Time-Reversal Symmetry Protected Topological Phases
• Mesoscopic transport in two-dimensional topological insulators
• Topological protection brought to light by the time-reversal symmetry breaking
• Low temperature saturation of phase coherence length in topological insulators
• Stability of Time-Reversal Symmetry Protected Topological Phases
• Conductance of quantum spin Hall edge states from first principles: the critical role of magnetic impurities and inter-edge scattering
• Disorder-dressed quantum evolution
• Robustness of quantized transport through edge states of finite length: Imaging current density in Floquet topological vs. quantum spin and anomalous Hall insulators
• Quantum spin Hall effect protected by spin U(1) quasisymmetry
• Breakdown of helical edge state topologically protected conductance in time-reversal-breaking excitonic insulators
• Theory of Glide Symmetry Protected Helical Edge States in WTe${}_2$ Monolayer
• Breakdown of topological protection due to non-magnetic edge disorder in two-dimensional materials in the Quantum Spin Hall phase
• Finite frequency backscattering current noise at a helical edge
• Composite helical edges from Abelian fractional topological insulators
• Elastic backscattering of quantum spin Hall edge modes from Coulomb interactions with non-magnetic impurities
• Protection of Edge transport in Quantum Spin Hall samples: Spin-Symmetry Based General Approach and Examples
• Analytical and Numerical study of the out-of-equilibrium current through a helical edge coupled to a magnetic impurity
• Robustness of Helical Edge States Under Edge Reconstruction
• The effect of magnetic impurity scattering on transport in topological insulators
• Suppression of ballistic helical transport by isotropic dynamical magnetic impurities
• Edge spin transport in the disordered two-dimensional topological insulator WTe${}_2$
• Backscattering off a driven Rashba impurity at the helical edge
• Quantum transport of Dirac fermions in HgTe gapless quantum wells
• Interaction- and phonon-induced topological phase transitions in double helical liquids
• Finite-temperature spectroscopy of dirty helical Luttinger liquids
• Effects of the Vertices on the Topological Bound States in a Quasicrystalline Topological Insulator
• Disordered contacts can localize helical edge electrons
• Edge Reconstruction in a Quantum Spin Hall Insulator
• Bulk-edge coulping induced by a moving impurity