Magic angle conditions for twisted 3D topological insulators

TL;DR

This paper develops a low-energy theory for twisted Dirac material heterostructures on 3D topological insulators, identifying conditions for magic angles where Dirac velocities vanish, crucial for exploring topological phases.

Contribution

It introduces a general low-energy framework for twisted Dirac heterostructures on 3D TIs and establishes the necessity of spin-flipping hopping for magic angles.

Findings

Magic angles require spin-flipping hopping terms.

Dirac cone velocities can be significantly renormalized.

Enhanced density of states enables topological phase realization.

Abstract

We derive a general low-energy theory for twisted moir\'e heterostructures comprised of Dirac materials. We apply our theory to heterostructures on the surface of a three dimensional topological insulator (3D TI). First, we consider the interface between two 3D TIs arranged with a relative twist angle. We prove that if the two TIs are identical, then a necessary condition for a magic angle where the Dirac cone velocity vanishes is to have an interlayer spin-flipping hopping term. Without this term, the Dirac cone velocities can still be significantly renormalized, decreasing to less than half of their original values, but they will not vanish. Second, we consider graphene on the surface of a TI arranged with a small twist angle. Again, a magic angle is only achievable with a spin-flipping hopping term. Without this term, the Dirac cone is renormalized, but not significantly. In both cases, our perturbative results are verified by computing the band structure of the continuum model. The enhanced density of states that results from decreasing the surface Dirac cone velocity provides a tunable route to realizing interacting topological phases.