Axion Electrodynamics and Measurable Effects in Topological Insulators

• Main Author: Asker, Andreas
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Karlstads universitet, Fakulteten för hälsa, natur- och teknikvetenskap (from 2013) 2018
• Subjects: Topological Insulators; Axion Electrodynamics; Topological Magnetoelectric Effect; Topological Field Theory; Faraday-Kerr Effect; Topologiska Isolatorer; Axion Elektrodynamik; Topologiska Magnetoelektriska Effekten; Topologisk Fältteori; Faraday-Kerr Effekten; Condensed Matter Physics; Den kondenserade materiens fysik
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kau:diva-67519

Topological insulators are materials with their electronic band structure in bulk resembling that of an ordinary insulator, but the surface states are metallic. These surface states are topologically protected, meaning that they are robust against impurities. The topological phenomena of three dimensional topological insulators can be expressed within topological field theories, predicting axion electrodynamics and the topological magnetoelectric effect. An experiment have been suggested to measure the topological phenomena. In this thesis, the underlying theory and details around the experiment are explained and more detailed derivations and expressions are provided.