The Effective field theory of 2+1 dimensional topological insulator in the presence of Rashba spin-orbit interaction (1306.1636v3)

Abstract: 2+1 dimensional topological insulator described by the Kane-Mele model in the presence of Rashba spin-orbit interaction is considered. The effective action of the external fields coupled to electromagnetic and spin degrees of freedom is accomplished within this model. The Hamiltonian methods are adopted to provide the coefficients appearing in the action. It is demonstrated straightforwardly that the coefficients of the Chern-Simons terms are given by the first Chern number attained through the related non-Abelian Berry gauge field. The effective theory which we obtain is in accord with the existence of the spin Hall phase where the value of the spin Hall conductivity is very close to the quantized one.