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Emergent Z2 topological invariant and robust helical edge states in two-dimensional topological metals

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Abstract

In this work, we study the effects of disorder on topological metals that support a pair of helical edge modes deeply embedded inside the gapless bulk states. Strikingly, we predict that a quantum spin Hall (QSH) phase can be obtained from such topological metals without opening a global band gap. To be specific, disorder can lead to a pair of robust helical edge states which is protected by an emergent Z2 topological invariant, giving rise to a quantized conductance plateau in transport measurements. These results are instructive for solving puzzles in various transport experiments on QSH materials that are intrinsically metallic. This work also will inspire experimental realization of the QSH effect in disordered topological metals.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Advanced Study and School of Physical Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006, China

    Chui-Zhen Chen & Hua Jiang

  2. Department of Physics, Hubei University, Wuhan, 430062, China

    Dong-Hui Xu

  3. International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

    X. C. Xie

  4. CAS Center for Excellence in Topological Quantum Computation, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China

    X. C. Xie

  5. Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China

    X. C. Xie

Authors
  1. Chui-Zhen Chen
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  2. Hua Jiang
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  3. Dong-Hui Xu
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  4. X. C. Xie
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to X. C. Xie.

Additional information

This work was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2015CB921102), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11534001, 11822407, 11704106, and 11974256), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities. Hua Jiang and Chui-Zhen Chen are also funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions and National Natural Science Foundation of China of Jiangsu province (Grant No. BK20190813). Dong-Hui Xu is also supported by the Chutian Scholars Program in Hubei Province. We thank HaiWen Liu and Rui-Rui Du for illuminating discussions.

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Chen, CZ., Jiang, H., Xu, DH. et al. Emergent Z2 topological invariant and robust helical edge states in two-dimensional topological metals. Sci. China Phys. Mech. Astron. 63, 107811 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11433-019-1523-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11433-019-1523-6

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