Photoexcitation in two-dimensional topological insulators: Generating and controlling electron wavepackets in Quantum Spin Hall systems

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how localized electric pulses can generate and control spin-polarized electron wavepackets in 2D topological insulators, advancing the development of electron quantum optics without magnetic fields.

Contribution

It introduces a method to photoexcite and manipulate electron wavepackets in quantum spin Hall systems using electric pulses, without relying on bulk states or magnetic fields.

Findings

Wavepackets are spin-polarized and propagate without dispersion.

Electric pulses can generate minimal excitations (Levitons).

Rashba spin-orbit coupling can shape wavepackets.

Abstract

One of the most fascinating challenges in Physics is the realization of an electron-based counterpart of quantum optics, which requires the capability to generate and control single electron wave packets. The edge states of quantum spin Hall (QSH) systems, i.e. two-dimensional (2D) topological insulators realized in HgTe/CdTe and InAs/GaSb quantum wells, may turn the tide in the field, as they do not require the magnetic field that limits the implementations based on quantum Hall effect. Here we show that an electric pulse, localized in space and/or time and applied at a QSH edge, can photoexcite electron wavepackets by intra-branch electrical transitions, without invoking the bulk states or the Zeeman coupling. Such wavepackets are spin-polarised and propagate in opposite directions, with a density profile that is independent of the initial equilibrium temperature and that does not exhibit dispersion, as a result of the linearity of the spectrum and of the chiral anomaly characterising massless Dirac electrons. We also investigate the photoexcited energy distribution and show how, under appropriate circumstances, minimal excitations (Levitons) are generated. Furthermore, we show that the presence of a Rashba spin-orbit coupling can be exploited to tailor the shape of photoexcited wavepackets. Possible experimental realizations are also discussed.