This title appears in the Scientific Report :
2018
Please use the identifier:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.98.081407 in citations.
Please use the identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/2128/20038 in citations.
Impact of complex adatom-induced interactions on quantum spin Hall phases
Impact of complex adatom-induced interactions on quantum spin Hall phases
Adsorbate engineering offers a seemingly simple approach to tailor spin-orbit interactions in atomically thin materials and thus to unlock the much sought-after topological insulating phases in two dimensions. However, the observation of an Anderson topological transition induced by heavy adatoms ha...
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Personal Name(s): | Dos Santos, Flaviano José |
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Bahamon, Dario A. / Muniz, Roberto B. / McKenna, Keith / Castro, Eduardo V. / Lischner, Johannes (Corresponding author) / Ferreira, Aires (Corresponding author) | |
Contributing Institute: |
Quanten-Theorie der Materialien; IAS-1 JARA - HPC; JARA-HPC JARA-FIT; JARA-FIT Quanten-Theorie der Materialien; PGI-1 |
Published in: | Physical Review B Physical review / B, 98 98 (2018 2018) 8 8, S. 081407 081407 |
Imprint: |
Woodbury, NY
Inst.
2018
|
DOI: |
10.1103/PhysRevB.98.081407 |
Document Type: |
Journal Article |
Research Program: |
Controlling Spin-Based Phenomena |
Link: |
OpenAccess OpenAccess |
Publikationsportal JuSER |
Please use the identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/2128/20038 in citations.
Adsorbate engineering offers a seemingly simple approach to tailor spin-orbit interactions in atomically thin materials and thus to unlock the much sought-after topological insulating phases in two dimensions. However, the observation of an Anderson topological transition induced by heavy adatoms has proved extremely challenging despite substantial experimental efforts. Here, we present a multiscale approach combining advanced first-principles methods and accurate single-electron descriptions of adatom-host interactions using graphene as a prototypical system. Our study reveals a surprisingly complex structure in the interactions mediated by random adatoms, including hitherto neglected hopping processes leading to strong valley mixing. We argue that the unexpected intervalley scattering strongly impacts the ground state at low adatom coverage, which would provide a compelling explanation for the absence of a topological gap in recent experimental reports on graphene. Our conjecture is confirmed by real-space Chern number calculations and large-scale quantum transport simulations in disordered samples. This resolves an important controversy and suggests that a detectable topological gap can be achieved by increasing the spatial range of the induced spin-orbit interactions on graphene, e.g., using nanoparticles. |