On Behind the Physics of the Thermoelectricity of Topological Insulators

TL;DR

This paper explores the topological quantum field theory contributions to thermoelectric effects in topological insulators, revealing a quantized topological mass and an anomalous Seebeck coefficient related to electron-hole pair creation.

Contribution

It introduces a formalism linking topological quantum field theories to thermoelectric properties, providing a quantized topological mass and a new expression for the figure of merit in topological insulators.

Findings

Identification of a topological contribution to thermoelectricity.

Derivation of a quantized topological mass proportional to temperature.

Calculated figure of merit value consistent with experimental data.

Abstract

Topological Insulators are the best thermoelectric materials involving a sophisticated physics beyond their solid state and electronic structure. We show that exists a topological contribution to the thermoelectric effect that arise between topological and thermal quantum field theories applied at very low energies. This formalism provides us with a quantized topological mass proportional to the temperature T, being both quantities directly related with an electric potential V and getting a Seebeck coefficient where we identify an anomalous contribution that we associate to the creation of real electron-hole Schwinger's pairs close to the topological bands. Finally, we find a general expression, considering the electronic contribution, for the dimensionless figure of merit of these topological materials, getting a value of 2.73 that is applicable to the Bi$_2$Te$_3$, for which it was reported a value of 2.4, using only the most basic topological numbers (0 or 1).