Theory of glide symmetry protected helical edge states in a WTe2 monolayer

Helical edge states in quantum spin Hall (QSH) materials are central building blocks of topological matter design and engineering. Despite their principal topological protection against elastic backscattering, the level of operational stability depends on manifold parameters such as the band gap of the given semiconductor system in the inverted regime, temperature, disorder, and crystal orientation. We theoretically investigate electronic and transport properties of QSH edge states in large gap 1-T' WTe2 monolayers. We explore the impact of edge termination, disorder, temperature, and interactions on experimentally addressable edge state observables, such as local density of states and conductance. We show that conductance quantization can remain surprisingly robust even for heavily disordered samples because of an anomalously small edge state decay length and additional protection related to the large direct gap allowed by glide symmetry. From the simulation of temperature-dependent resistance, we find that moderate disorder enhances the stability of conductance by localizing bulk states. We evaluate the edge state velocity and Luttinger liquid parameter as functions of the chemical potential, finding prospects for physics beyond linear helical Luttinger liquids in samples with ultraclean and well-defined edges.

Automated summary

We theoretically investigate the electronic and transport properties of QSH edge states in large gap 1-T' WTe2 monolayers. We explore the impact of edge termination, disorder, temperature, and interactions on experimentally observable edge state properties. We find that conductance quantization can remain robust even for heavily disordered samples, and that moderate disorder can enhance the stability of conductance by localizing bulk states. We also evaluate the edge state velocity and Luttinger liquid parameter as functions of the chemical potential, finding prospects for physics beyond linear helical Luttinger liquids.