Axion Mie Theory of Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy in Topological Insulators

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Main Authors: Schultz, Johannes, Nogueira, Flavio S., Büchner, Bernd, Brink, Jeroen van den, Lubk, Axel
Format: Preprint
Published: 2020
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_version_ 1866908459303174144
author Schultz, Johannes
Nogueira, Flavio S.
Büchner, Bernd
Brink, Jeroen van den
Lubk, Axel
author_facet Schultz, Johannes
Nogueira, Flavio S.
Büchner, Bernd
Brink, Jeroen van den
Lubk, Axel
contents Electronic topological states of matter exhibit novel types of responses to electromagnetic fields. The response of strong topological insulators, for instance, is characterized by a so-called axion term in the electromagnetic Lagrangian which is ultimately due to the presence of topological surface states. Here we develop the axion Mie theory for the electromagnetic response of spherical particles including arbitrary sources of fields, i.e., charge and current distributions. We derive an axion induced mixing of transverse magnetic and transverse electric modes which are experimentally detectable through small induced rotations of the field vectors. Our results extend upon previous analyses of the problem. Our main focus is on the experimentally relevant problem of electron energy loss spectroscopy in topological insulators, a technique that has so far not yet been used to detect the axion electromagnetic response in these materials.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2002_03804
institution arXiv
publishDate 2020
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Axion Mie Theory of Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy in Topological Insulators
Schultz, Johannes
Nogueira, Flavio S.
Büchner, Bernd
Brink, Jeroen van den
Lubk, Axel
Optics
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
High Energy Physics - Theory
Electronic topological states of matter exhibit novel types of responses to electromagnetic fields. The response of strong topological insulators, for instance, is characterized by a so-called axion term in the electromagnetic Lagrangian which is ultimately due to the presence of topological surface states. Here we develop the axion Mie theory for the electromagnetic response of spherical particles including arbitrary sources of fields, i.e., charge and current distributions. We derive an axion induced mixing of transverse magnetic and transverse electric modes which are experimentally detectable through small induced rotations of the field vectors. Our results extend upon previous analyses of the problem. Our main focus is on the experimentally relevant problem of electron energy loss spectroscopy in topological insulators, a technique that has so far not yet been used to detect the axion electromagnetic response in these materials.
title Axion Mie Theory of Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy in Topological Insulators
topic Optics
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
High Energy Physics - Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2002.03804