Kondo breakdown in topological Kondo insulators

Motivated by the observation of light surface states in SmB6, we examine the effects of surface Kondo breakdown in topological Kondo insulators. We present both numerical and analytic results which show that the decoupling of the localized moments at the surface disturbs the compensation between light and heavy electrons and dopes the Dirac cone. Dispersion of these uncompensated surface states is dominated by intersite hopping, which leads to much lighter quasiparticles. These surface states are also highly durable against the effects of surface magnetism and decreasing thickness of the sample.