Topological insulators are new states of quantum matter which can not be adiabatically connected to conventional insulators and semiconductors. They are characterized by a full insulating gap in the bulk and gapless edge or surface states which are protected by time-reversal symmetry. These topological materials have been theoretically predicted and experimentally observed in a variety of systems, including HgTe quantum wells, BiSb alloys, and Bi 2 Te 3 and Bi 2 Se 3 crystals. We review theoretical models, materials properties and experimental results on two-dimensional and three-dimensional topological insulators, and discuss both the topological band theory and the topological field theory. Topological superconductors have a full pairing gap in the bulk and gapless surface states consisting of Majorana fermions. We review the theory of topological superconductors in close analogy to the theory of topological insulators.

Recent theory predicted that the Quantum Spin Hall Effect, a fundamentally novel quantum state of matter that exists at zero external magnetic field, may be realized in HgTe/(Hg,Cd)Te quantum wells. We have fabricated such sample structures with low density and high mobility in which we can tune, through an external gate voltage, the carrier conduction from n-type to the p-type, passing through an insulating regime. For thin quantum wells with well width d < 6.3 nm, the insulating regime shows the conventional behavior of vanishingly small conductance at low temperature. However, for thicker quantum wells (d > 6.3 nm), the nominally insulating regime shows a plateau of residual conductance close to 2e 2 /h. The residual conductance is independent of the sample width, indicating that it is caused by edge states. Furthermore, the residual conductance is destroyed by a small external magnetic field.

Topological insulators are new states of quantum matter in which surface states residing in the bulk insulating gap of such systems are protected by time-reversal symmetry. The study of such states was originally inspired by the robustness to scattering of conducting edge states in quantum Hall systems. Recently, such analogies have resulted in the discovery of topologically protected states in two-dimensional and three-dimensional band insulators with large spin-orbit coupling. So far, the only known three-dimensional topological insulator is Bi R ecently, the subject of time-reversal-invariant topological insulators has attracted great attention in condensed-matter physics [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] . Topological insulators in two or three dimensions have insulating energy gaps in the bulk, and gapless edge or surface states on the sample boundary that are protected by time-reversal symmetry. The surface states of a three-dimensional (3D) topological insulator consist of an odd number of massless Dirac cones, with a single Dirac cone being the simplest case. The existence of an odd number of massless Dirac cones on the surface is ensured by the Z 2 topological invariant 7-9 of the bulk. Furthermore, owing to the Kramers theorem, no time-reversalinvariant perturbation can open up an insulating gap at the Dirac point on the surface. However, a topological insulator can become fully insulating both in the bulk and on the surface if a timereversal-breaking perturbation is introduced on the surface. In this case, the electromagnetic response of three-dimensional (3D) topological insulators is described by the topological θ term of the form S θ = (θ /2π)(α/2π) d 3 x dt E · B, where E and B are the conventional electromagnetic fields and α is the fine-structure constant 10 . θ = 0 describes a conventional insulator, whereas θ = π describes topological insulators. Such a physically measurable and topologically non-trivial response originates from the odd number of Dirac fermions on the surface of a topological insulator.Soon after the theoretical prediction 5 , the 2D topological insulator exhibiting the quantum spin Hall effect was experimentally observed in HgTe quantum wells 6 . The electronic states of the 2D HgTe quantum wells are well described by a 2 + 1-dimensional Dirac equation where the mass term is continuously tunable by the thickness of the quantum well. Beyond a critical thickness, the Dirac mass term of the 2D quantum well changes sign from being positive to negative, and a pair of gapless helical edge states appears inside the bulk energy gap. This microscopic mechanism for obtaining topological insulators by inverting the bulk Dirac gap spectrum can also be generalized to other 2D and 3D systems. The guiding principle is to search for insulators where the

We show that the fundamental time reversal invariant (TRI) insulator exists in 4 + 1 dimensions, where the effective field theory is described by the 4 + 1 dimensional Chern-Simons theory and the topological properties of the electronic structure is classified by the second Chern number. These topological properties are the natural generalizations of the time reversal breaking (TRB) quantum Hall insulator in 2 + 1 dimensions. The TRI quantum spin Hall insulator in 2 + 1 dimensions and the topological insulator in 3 + 1 dimension can be obtained as descendants from the fundamental TRI insulator in 4 + 1 dimensions through a dimensional reduction procedure. The effective topological field theory, and the Z2 topological classification for the TRI insulators in 2 + 1 and 3 + 1 dimensions are naturally obtained from this procedure. All physically measurable topological response functions of the TRI insulators are completely described by the effective topological field theory. Our effective topological field theory predicts a number of novel and measurable phenomena, the most striking of which is the topological magneto-electric effect, where an electric field generates a magnetic field in the same direction, with an universal constant of proportionality quantized in odd multiples of the fine structure constant α = e 2 / c. Finally, we present a general classification of all topological insulators in various dimensions, and describe them in terms of a unified topological Chern-Simons field theory in phase space. Contents

Three-dimensional topological insulators are a new state of quantum matter with a bulk gap and odd number of relativistic Dirac fermions on the surface. By investigating the surface state of Bi2Te3 with angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we demonstrate that the surface state consists of a single nondegenerate Dirac cone. Furthermore, with appropriate hole doping, the Fermi level can be tuned to intersect only the surface states, indicating a full energy gap for the bulk states. Our results establish that Bi2Te3 is a simple model system for the three-dimensional topological insulator with a single Dirac cone on the surface. The large bulk gap of Bi2Te3 also points to promising potential for high-temperature spintronics applications.

We show that the fundamental time reversal invariant (TRI) insulator exists in 4 + 1 dimensions, where the effective field theory is described by the 4 + 1 dimensional Chern-Simons theory and the topological properties of the electronic structure is classified by the second Chern number. These topological properties are the natural generalizations of the time reversal breaking (TRB) quantum Hall insulator in 2 + 1 dimensions. The TRI quantum spin Hall insulator in 2 + 1 dimensions and the topological insulator in 3 + 1 dimension can be obtained as descendants from the fundamental TRI insulator in 4 + 1 dimensions through a dimensional reduction procedure. The effective topological field theory, and the Z2 topological classification for the TRI insulators in 2 + 1 and 3 + 1 dimensions are naturally obtained from this procedure. All physically measurable topological response functions of the TRI insulators are completely described by the effective topological field theory. Our effective topological field theory predicts a number of novel and measurable phenomena, the most striking of which is the topological magneto-electric effect, where an electric field generates a magnetic field in the same direction, with an universal constant of proportionality quantized in odd multiples of the fine structure constant α = e 2 / c. Finally, we present a general classification of all topological insulators in various dimensions, and describe them in terms of a unified topological Chern-Simons field theory in phase space. ContentsA y = −E y t, A x = 0.

In this paper we give the full microscopic derivation of the model Hamiltonian for the three dimensional topological insulators in the Bi2Se3 family of materials (Bi2Se3, Bi2T e3 and Sb2T e3). We first give a physical picture to understand the electronic structure by analyzing atomic orbitals and applying symmetry principles. Subsequently, we give the full microscopic derivation of the model Hamiltonian introduced by Zhang et al [1] based both on symmetry principles and the k · p perturbation theory. Two different types of k 3 terms, which break the in-plane full rotation symmetry down to three fold rotation symmetry, are taken into account. Effective Hamiltonian is derived for the topological surface states. Both the bulk and the surface models are investigated in the presence of an external magnetic field, and the associated Landau level structure is presented. For more quantitative fitting to the first principle calculations, we also present a new model Hamiltonian including eight energy bands.

The search for topologically non-trivial states of matter has become an important goal for condensed matter physics. Recently, a new class of topological insulators has been proposed. These topological insulators have an insulating gap in the bulk, but have topologically protected edge states due to the time reversal symmetry. In two dimensions the helical edge states give rise to the quantum spin Hall (QSH) effect, in the absence of any external magnetic field. Here we review a recent theory which predicts that the QSH state can be realized in HgTe/CdTe semiconductor quantum wells. By varying the thickness of the quantum well, the band structure changes from a normal to an "inverted" type at a critical thickness $d_c$. We present an analytical solution of the helical edge states and explicitly demonstrate their topological stability. We also review the recent experimental observation of the QSH state in HgTe/(Hg,Cd)Te quantum wells. We review both the fabrication of the sample and the experimental setup. For thin quantum wells with well width $d_{QW}< 6.3$ nm, the insulating regime shows the conventional behavior of vanishingly small conductance at low temperature. However, for thicker quantum wells ($d_{QW}> 6.3$ nm), the nominally insulating regime shows a plateau of residual conductance close to $2e^2/h$. The residual conductance is independent of the sample width, indicating that it is caused by edge states. Furthermore, the residual conductance is destroyed by a small external magnetic field. The quantum phase transition at the critical thickness, $d_c= 6.3$ nm, is also independently determined from the occurrence of a magnetic field induced insulator to metal transition.Comment: Invited review article for special issue of JPSJ, 32 pages. For higher resolution figures see official online version when publishe