Quantum Spin Hall Effect in Electric and Magnetic Fields without Spin-Orbit Coupling

Abstract

From the Dirac equation of an electron in an anisotropic conduction band, the anisotropy of its motion dramatically affects its interaction with applied electric and magnetic fields. The quantum spin Hall effect (QSHE) is observable in two-dimensional metals without spin-orbit coupling. The dimensionality of the Zeeman interaction plays an important role in the QSHE, and profoundly modifies many interpretations of measurements of the Knight shift and of the upper critical field in highly anisotropic superconductors.