On strong f-electron localization effect in topological kondo insulator

Abstract

We study strong f-electron localization effect on surface state of a generic topological Kondo insulator (TKI) system by performing a mean-field theoretic (MFT) calculation within the frame-work of periodic Anderson model (PAM) using slave-boson technique. The surface metallicity together with bulk insulation is found to require this type of localization. A key distinction between surface states in a conventional insulator and a topological insulator is that, along a course joining two time-reversal invariant momenta (TRIM) in the same BZ, there will be intersection of these surface states, even/odd number of times, with the Fermi energy inside the spectral gap. For even (odd) number of surface state crossings, the surface states are topologically trivial (non-trivial). The symmetry consideration and the pictorial representation of surface band structure obtained here show odd number of crossing leading to the conclusion that, at least within PAM framework, the generic system is a strong topological insulator.