Quasiparticle interference on the surface of the topological crystalline insulator Pb_(1−x)Sn_xSe

Abstract

Topological crystalline insulators represent a novel topological phase of matter in which the surface states are protected by discrete point group symmetries of the underlying lattice. Rock-salt lead-tin-selenide alloy is one possible realization of this phase, which undergoes a topological phase transition upon changing the lead content. We used scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) to probe the surface states on (001) Pb_(1−x)Sn_xSe in the topologically nontrivial (x=0.23) and topologically trivial (x=0) phases. We observed quasiparticle interference with STM on the surface of the topological crystalline insulator and demonstrated that the measured interference can be understood from ARPES studies and a simple band structure model. Furthermore, our findings support the fact that Pb_(0.77)Sn_(0.23)Se and PbSe have different topological nature.

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