Inversion symmetry breaking in the probability density by surface-bulk hybridization in topological insulators

Abstract

We analyze the probability density distribution in a topological insulator slab of finite thickness, where the bulk and surface states are allowed to hybridize. By using an effective continuum Hamiltonian approach as a theoretical framework, we analytically obtained the wave functions for each state near the $\Gamma$-point. Our results reveal that, under particular combinations of the hybridized bulk and surface states, the spatial symmetry of the electronic probability density with respect to the center of the slab can be spontaneously broken. This symmetry breaking arises as a combination of the parity of the solutions, their spin projection, and the material constants.