Floquet interface states in illuminated three-dimensional topological insulators

Recent experiments showed that the surface of a three dimensional topological insulator develops gaps in the Floquet-Bloch band spectrum when illuminated with a circularly polarized laser. These Floquet-Bloch bands are characterized by non-trivial Chern numbers which only depend on the helicity of t...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inarXiv.org
Main Authors Calvo, H L, L E F Foa Torres, Perez-Piskunow, P M, Balseiro, C A, Usaj, Gonzalo
Format Paper Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Ithaca Cornell University Library, arXiv.org 15.06.2015
Subjects
Bloch band
Circular polarization
Helicity
Lasers
Optoelectronics
Physics - Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Spintronics
Topological insulators
Topology
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Recent experiments showed that the surface of a three dimensional topological insulator develops gaps in the Floquet-Bloch band spectrum when illuminated with a circularly polarized laser. These Floquet-Bloch bands are characterized by non-trivial Chern numbers which only depend on the helicity of the polarization of the radiation field. Here we propose a setup consisting of a pair of counter-rotating lasers, and show that one-dimensional chiral states emerge at the interface between the two lasers. These interface states turn out to be spin-polarized and may trigger interesting applications in the field of optoelectronics and spintronics.
ISSN:2331-8422
DOI:10.48550/arxiv.1502.04098