# Edelstein and inverse Edelstein effects caused by the pristine surface states of topological insulators

## TL;DR

This paper investigates the Edelstein and inverse Edelstein effects on the surface states of topological insulators, revealing impurity scattering effects and explaining experimental observations through a semiclassical approach.

## Contribution

It provides a theoretical semiclassical framework to understand Edelstein effects on topological insulator surfaces, including impurity scattering and spin-momentum locking.

## Key findings

- Surface spin accumulation is independent of chemical potential and temperature.
- The inverse Edelstein effect converts spin currents into charge currents effectively.
- Results align with various experimental observations.

## Abstract

The Edelstein effect caused by the pristine surface states of three-dimensional topological insulators is investigated by means of a semiclassical approach. The combined effect of random impurity scattering and the spin-momentum locking of the gapless Dirac cone yields a current-induced surface spin accumulation independent from chemical potential and temperature. Through combing the semiclassical approach with the Bloch equation, the inverse Edelstein effect that converts the spin pumping spin current into a charge current is well explained. Consistency of these results with various experiments will be elaborated in detail.