Edelstein and inverse Edelstein effects caused by the pristine surface states of topological insulators

Abstract

The Edelstein effect caused by the pristine surface states of three-dimensional topological insulators is investigated by means of a semiclassical approach. The combined effect of random impurity scattering and the spin-momentum locking of the gapless Dirac cone yields a current-induced surface spin accumulation independent from chemical potential and temperature. Through combing the semiclassical approach with the Bloch equation, the inverse Edelstein effect that converts the spin pumping spin current into a charge current is well explained. Consistency of these results with various experiments will be elaborated in detail.