Abstract
Gold surfaces host special electronic states that have been understood as a prototype of Shockley surface states. These surface states are commonly employed to benchmark the capability of angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and scanning tunnelling spectroscopy. Here we show that these Shockley surface states can be reinterpreted as topologically derived surface states (TDSSs) of a topological insulator (TI), a recently discovered quantum state. Based on band structure calculations, the Z2-type invariants of gold can be well-defined to characterize a TI. Further, our ARPES measurement validates TDSSs by detecting the dispersion of unoccupied surface states. The same TDSSs are also recognized on surfaces of other well-known noble metals (for example, silver, copper, platinum and palladium), which shines a new light on these long-known surface states.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 10167 |
| Journal | Nature Communications |
| Volume | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2015 |
| Externally published | Yes |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- General Chemistry
- General Biochemistry,Genetics and Molecular Biology
- General Physics and Astronomy