Magnetotransport in disordered two-dimensional topological insulators: signatures of charge puddles

Abstract

In this numerical study we investigate the influence and interplay of disorder, spin-orbit coupling and magnetic field on the edge-transport in HgTe/CdTe quantum wells in the framework of coherent elastic scattering. We show that the edge states remain unaffected by the combined effect of moderate disorder and a weak magnetic field at realistic spin-orbit coupling strengths. Agreement with the experimentally observed linear magnetic field dependence for the conductance of long samples is obtained when considering the existence of charge puddles.