Topological Imbert-Fedorov Shift in Weyl Semimetals

Area of Science:

• Condensed Matter Physics
• Materials Science
• Quantum Optics

Background:

• Optical phenomena like the Goos-Hänchen (GH) and Imbert-Fedorov (IF) shifts describe lateral displacements of light at interfaces.
• Weyl semimetals (WSMs) are topological materials hosting low-energy Weyl fermions, analogous to massless particles.

Purpose of the Study:

• To theoretically investigate the GH and IF shifts in Weyl semimetals.
• To explore the unique properties and potential applications of these shifts in WSMs.

Main Methods:

• Theoretical prediction of optical shifts using a low-energy effective Hamiltonian for WSMs.
• Analysis of the valley dependence and topological origin of the IF shift.

Main Results:

• The GH shift in WSMs is found to be valley independent, similar to graphene.
• The IF shift in WSMs is predicted to be valley dependent and arises from the topological properties of the material.
• The IF shift is demonstrated to be a topological effect.

Conclusions:

• The valley-dependent IF shift in WSMs offers a novel method for characterizing these topological materials.
• This topological IF shift can be leveraged for designing efficient valleytronic devices.
• The IF shift provides a new experimental probe for measuring the Berry curvature in WSMs.