Electrons on the surface of Bi2Se3 form a topologically-ordered two dimensional gas with a non-trivial Berry's phase

Abstract

The interface between a superconductor and a topological insulator has been proposed to harbor novel quasiparticles that realize physical schemes for fault-tolerant quantum computation. Here, we present high resolution angle-resolved photoemission experimental results, which along with first principles calculations, suggest that the surface-edge states of Bi2Se3 form a topological 2D metal. When magnetic atoms are deposited, the surface tends to lose Kramers' degeneracy and a k-space connection thread between the bulk valence and conduction bands is lost. Our observed states carry a πBerry's phase suggesting that although the real materials are often electron doped fully undoped Bi2Se3 would be a Z2 topological insulator at room temperature.

11 pages and 5 figures