Topological quantum phase transition and the Berry phase near the Fermi surface in hole-doped quantum wells

TL;DR

This paper investigates a topological quantum phase transition in hole-doped quantum wells, where changes in quantum well thickness induce Berry phase transitions linked to spin Hall conductivity, robust against impurities.

Contribution

It introduces a topological phase transition driven by quantum well thickness in hole-doped systems, connecting Berry phase changes with observable spin Hall effects.

Findings

Berry phase changes with quantum well thickness.

Spin Hall conductivity exhibits a jump at the transition.

Transition is robust against impurity potentials.

Abstract

We propose a topological quantum phase transition for quantum states with different Berry phases in hole-doped III-V semiconductor quantum wells with bulk and structure inversion asymmetry. The Berry phase of the occupied Bloch states can be characteristic of topological metallic states. It is found that the adjustment of thickness of the quantum well may cause a transition of Berry phase in two-dimensional hole gas. Correspondingly, the jump of spin Hall conductivity accompanies the change of the Berry phase. This property is robust against the impurity potentials in the system. Experimental detection of this topological quantum phase transition is discussed.