Hybrid-order topology of weak topological insulators

Topological order parameters for interacting topological insulators.

We propose a topological order parameter for interacting topological insulators, expressed in terms of the full Green's functions of the interacting system. We show that it is exactly quantized for a time-reversal invariant topological insulator, and it can be experimentally measured through the topological magneto-electric effect. This topological order parameter can be applied to both interac...

Disordered weak and strong topological insulators.

A global phase diagram of disordered weak and strong topological insulators is established numerically. As expected, the location of the phase boundaries is renormalized by disorder, a feature recognized in the study of the so-called topological Anderson insulator. Here, we report unexpected quantization, i.e., robustness against disorder of the conductance peaks on these phase boundaries. Anot...

Competing weak localization and weak antilocalization in ultrathin topological insulators.

We demonstrate evidence of a surface gap opening in topological insulator (TI) thin films of (Bi(0.57)Sb(0.43))(2)Te(3) below six quintuple layers through transport and scanning tunneling spectroscopy measurements. By effective tuning the Fermi level via gate-voltage control, we unveil a striking competition between weak localization and weak antilocalization at low magnetic fields in nonmagnet...

Sufficient Conditions for Topological Order in Insulators

– We prove the existence of low energy excitations in insulating systems at general filling factor under certain conditions, and discuss in which cases these may be identified as topological excitations. In the specific case of half-filling this proof provides a significantly shortened proof of the recent higher dimensional Lieb-Schultz-Mattis theorem. The classic 1961 result of Lieb, Schultz, ...

Topological insulators