arXiv · 1201.0278
Inelastic electron backscattering in a generic helical edge channel
Abstract
We evaluate the low-temperature conductance of a weakly interacting one-dimensional helical liquid without axial spin symmetry. The lack of that symmetry allows for inelastic backscattering of a single electron, accompanied by forward-scattering of another. This joint effect of weak interactions and potential scattering off impurities results in a temperature-dependent deviation from the quantized conductance, $\delta G \propto T^4$. In addition, $\delta G$ is sensitive to the position of the Fermi level. We determine numerically the parameters entering our generic model for the Bernevig-Hughes-Zhang Hamiltonian of a HgTe/CdTe quantum well in the presence of Rashba spin-orbit coupling.
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Thomas L. Schmidt, Stephan Rachel, Felix von Oppen, Leonid I. Glazman. 2011-12-31. Inelastic electron backscattering in a generic helical edge channel. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.108.156402
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