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Edge Reconstruction in a Quantum Spin Hall Insulator
Rahul Soni1,2, Matthias Thamm3, Gonzalo Alvarez4
1University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Tennessee 37996, USA.
Abstract:
We study interaction-driven edge reconstruction in a quantum spin Hall insulator described by the Bernevig-Hughes-Zhang model with Kanamori-Hubbard interactions using the real-space density matrix renormalization group method in both the grand-canonical and canonical ensembles. For a two-dimensional cylinder with a smooth edge, we identify discrete particle-number transitions that lead to a spin-polarized edge state stabilized by an emergent ferromagnetic exchange interaction. The reconstruction is orbital-selective, occurring predominantly in the s-orbital channel. Our results reveal a microscopic mechanism for emergent fluctuating moments at the edge that could compromise the topological protection of helical edge states by time-reversal symmetry.
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