Interaction-induced quantum spin Hall insulator in the organic Dirac electron system $\alpha$-(BEDT-TSeF)$_2$I$_3$

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that in the organic Dirac electron system $ ext{α}$-(BEDT-TSeF)$_2$I$_3$, electron interactions induce a quantum spin Hall insulator phase, expanding the understanding of topological phases in low-symmetry, low spin-orbit coupling materials.

Contribution

It shows that electron-electron interactions can induce a quantum spin Hall phase in a low-symmetry organic material without relying solely on spin-orbit coupling.

Findings

Interaction-induced QSH phase in $ ext{α}$-(BEDT-TSeF)$_2$I$_3$

Enhanced spin-orbit gap due to next-nearest neighbor repulsions

Consistent explanation of experimental transport and magnetic properties

Abstract

Focusing on the recently-discovered candidate topological insulator $\alpha$-(BEDT-TSeF)$_2$I$_3$ -- having two-dimensional charge-neutral Dirac cones in a low symmetry lattice -- we combine ab-initio and extended-Hubbard model calculations to deal with spin-orbit and non-local repulsive interactions, and find a realization of an interaction-induced quantum spin Hall (QSH) insulator, similar to the one proposed in the honeycomb lattice under next-nearest neighbor repulsions. In the absence of repulsive interactions, a topological insulator appears by the spin-orbit coupling and is characterized by a nonzero spin Chern number. By considering up to next-nearest neighbor repulsions at Hartree-Fock level, the intrinsic spin-orbit gap is found to grow by orders of magnitude and a QSH insulating phase appears that has both a finite spin Chern number and order parameter. Transport coefficients and spin susceptibility are calculated and found to consistently account for most of the experimental findings, including the metal-to-insulator crossover occurring at $\sim50$ K as well as the Berry phase change from 0 to $\pi$ under hydrostatic pressure. We argue that such a QSH insulating phase does not necessitate a sizeable spin-orbit interaction to generate a large insulating gap, which is highly advantageous for the search of novel topological phases in generic materials having low symmetry lattice and/or small spin-orbit coupling.