Spin-dependent thermoelectric transport in HgTe/CdTe quantum wells

We analyze thermally induced spin and charge transport in HgTe/CdTe quantum wells on the basis of the numerical non-equilibrium Green's function technique in the linear response regime. In the topologically non-trivial regime, we find a clear signature of the gap of the edge states due to their...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 2012-10
Main Authors: Rothe, D G, Hankiewicz, E M, Trauzettel, B, Guigou, M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Charge transport
Green's functions
Mathematical models
Mercury tellurides
Quantum wells
Resistance
Temperature gradients
Thermoelectricity
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Summary:We analyze thermally induced spin and charge transport in HgTe/CdTe quantum wells on the basis of the numerical non-equilibrium Green's function technique in the linear response regime. In the topologically non-trivial regime, we find a clear signature of the gap of the edge states due to their finite overlap from opposite sample boundaries -- both in the charge Seebeck and spin Nernst signal. We are able to fully understand the physical origin of the thermoelectric transport signatures of edge and bulk states based on simple analytical models. Interestingly, we derive that the spin Nernst signal is related to the spin Hall conductance by a Mott-like relation which is exact to all orders in the temperature difference between the warm and the cold reservoir.
ISSN:2331-8422
DOI:10.48550/arxiv.1208.2197