Hedgehog spin texture and Berryg's phase tuning in a magnetic topological insulator

Su Yang Xu, Madhab Neupane, Chang Liu, Duming Zhang, Anthony Richardella, L. Andrew Wray, Nasser Alidoust, Mats Leandersson, Thiagarajan Balasubramanian, Jaime Sánchez-Barriga, Oliver Rader, Gabriel Landolt, Bartosz Slomski, Jan Hugo Dil, Jürg Osterwalder, Tay Rong Chang, Horng Tay Jeng, Hsin Lin, Arun Bansil, Nitin SamarthM. Zahid Hasan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

343 Scopus citations

Abstract

Understanding and control of spin degrees of freedom on the surfaces of topological materials are key to future applications as well as for realizing novel physics such as the axion electrodynamics associated with time-reversal (TR) symmetry breaking on the surface. We experimentally demonstrate magnetically induced spin reorientation phenomena simultaneous with a Dirac-metal to gapped-insulator transition on the surfaces of manganese-doped Bi 2 Se 3 thin films. The resulting electronic groundstate exhibits unique hedgehog-like spin textures at low energies, which directly demonstrate the mechanics of TR symmetry breaking on the surface. We further show that an insulating gap induced by quantum tunnelling between surfaces exhibits spin texture modulation at low energies but respects TR invariance. These spin phenomena and the control of their Fermi surface geometrical phase first demonstrated in our experiments pave the way for the future realization of many predicted exotic magnetic phenomena of topological origin.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)616-622
Number of pages7
JournalNature Physics
Volume8
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2012

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Physics and Astronomy

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