Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 27, 2026

Experimental Methods for Spin- and Angle-Resolved Photoemission Spectroscopy Combined with Polarization-Variable Laser
Published on: June 28, 2018
Three-dimensional topological insulator in a magnetic field: chiral side surface states and quantized Hall
Yan-Yang Zhang1, Xiang-Rong Wang, X C Xie
1Department of Physics and Center of Computational and Theoretical Physics, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong.
Abstract:
Low energy excitation of surface states of a three-dimensional topological insulator (3DTI) can be described by Dirac fermions. By using a tight-binding model, the transport properties of the surface states in a uniform magnetic field are investigated. It is found that chiral surface states parallel to the magnetic field are responsible for the quantized Hall (QH) conductance (2n + 1)e²/h multiplied by the number of Dirac cones. Due to the two-dimensional nature of the surface states, the robustness of the QH conductance against impurity scattering is determined by the oddness and evenness of the Dirac cone number. An experimental setup for transport measurement is proposed.
Related Concept Videos
The Hall Effect
Valence Bond Theory
Magnetostatic Boundary Conditions
Magnetic Fields
A magnetic field is defined by the force that a charged particle experiences...
Electric Field at the Surface of a Conductor
In the 19th century, Michael Faraday conducted the famous ice pail experiment to prove that the charges always reside on the surface of a conductor. The experimental set-up consists of a conducting uncharged container mounted on an insulating stand. The outer surface of the container is...
Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Spin State Overview

