title: Study of band inversion in the PbxSn1-xTe class of topological crystalline insulators using x-ray absorption spectroscopy.
abstract: Pb(x)Sn(1-x)Te and Pb(x)Sn(1-x)Se crystals belong to the class of topological crystalline insulators where topological protection is achieved due to crystal symmetry rather than time-reversal symmetry. In this work, we make use of selection rules in the x-ray absorption process to experimentally detect band inversion along the PbTe(Se)-SnTe(Se) tie-lines. The observed significant change in the ratio of intensities of L1 and L3 transitions along the tie-line demonstrates that x-ray absorption can be a useful tool to study band inversion in topological insulators.
authors.affiliation: Nanoelectronics Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8562, Japan.
authors.forename: K V
authors.initials: KV
authors.lastname: Mitrofanov
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Kolobov
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fons
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Krbal
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tominaga
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Uruga