The role of temperature in spin-orbit materials*

The spin-orbit interaction underlies multiple physical phenomena, including topological order and the spin splitting of bands in inversion asymmetric crystals, which could be harnessed in novel technologies including spintronics or quantum computers. However, for any practical device, the spin-orbit driven properties need to survive all the way to room temperature, and therefore understanding the role of electron-phonon coupling and thermal expansion in spin-orbit materials becomes central.

In this talk, I will describe our work exploring the role of temperature in spin-orbit materials. I will describe the temperature dependence of the bulk Rashba splitting in the bismuth tellurohalides [1], temperature induced topological transitions in the bismuth selenide family [2], and structural stabilization driven by spin-orbit coupling in superconducting In₅Bi₃.

[1] Phys. Rev. Materials 1, 054201 (2017)
[2] Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 226801 (2016)