Influence of dielectric environment on the role of spin–orbit interaction for image potentials

Abstract

We present a formalism for calculating the image potential for a two‐dimensional electron gas (2DEG) with Rashba spin–orbit interaction (SOI) as well as for a 2D topological insulator (TI). The formalism is further generalized for including the Coulomb coupled multiple layers. Roles of broken inversion symmetry near the surface and the dielectric environment are investigated by using a surface‐response function. The insignificant role of SOI in 2DEG is dramatically enhanced in TI by selecting a small relative permittivity for the dielectric environment. Manipulating is proven to provide an efficient way to drive electrons with opposite spins into two different integral quantum Hall states. The prediction made in this paper is expected to be experimentally observable for a 2DTI system, such as Bi2 Se3, with a helical spin behavior and a dominant linear Rashba SOI‐like term in the energy dispersion.