Regensburg 2013 – scientific programme

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TT: Fachverband Tiefe Temperaturen

TT 58: Poster Session Transport & Matter at Low Temperature

TT 58.48: Poster

Thursday, March 14, 2013, 15:00–19:00, Poster D

Topological edge states in a HgTe quantum well in proximity to an s-wave superconductor — •Luzie Weithofer and Patrik Recher — Institute for Mathematical Physics, TU Braunschweig, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany

Topological insulators represent a new class of condensed matter systems which are characterized by topologically protected edge states. Two-dimensional topological insulators have been experimentally realized in HgTe quantum wells [1]. In a HgTe quantum well in the topologically non-trivial phase, two edge states of different spin propagate in opposite directions at the same boundary.

Here, we consider the proximity-induced superconductivity in the bulk of a HgTe quantum well in terms of a four-band model [2]. In addition, we include various symmetry-breaking terms and discuss their consequences on the topological properties of the system, focusing on the existence of edge states.
[1] M. König et al., Science 318, 766 (2007)
B. Bernevig et al., Science 314, 1757 (2006)