| Description |
Michele Governale (Victoria University of Wellington) Abstract:
Two-dimensional second-order topological insulators are characterized by the presence of topologically protected zero-energy states localized at the corners of a flake [1].
We consider two different models of second-order topological insulators, both belonging to Cartan class AIII [2]. We discuss how the location and properties of the corner states can be controlled, for example by rotating an in-plane magnetic field or by changing the orientation of the flake with respect to the crystal axes. Finally, we study multi-terminal electronic transport through a flake of second-order topological insulator. We show that these types of systems can implement topological nano-switches. We find that the switching functionality is remarkably robust to the presence of strong disorder stemming from the topological nature of the states contributing to the electron transport. [1] B. Xie, H.-X. Wang, X. Zhang, P. Zhan, J.-H. Jiang, M. Lu, and Y. Chen, Nat. Rev. Phys. 3, 520 (2021). [2] J. Poata, F. Taddei, and M. Governale, Phys. Rev. B 108, 115405 (2023). [3] J. Poata, F. Taddei, and M. Governale, New J. Phys. 26, 053038 (2024). |
CMSP Seminar (Joint ICTP/SISSA Statistical Physics): Boundary states in flakes of two-dimensional second-order topological insulators
Go to day