Tunable Weyl Points in Periodically Driven Nodal Line Semimetals

Area of Science:

• Condensed matter physics
• Topological materials science

Background:

• Weyl semimetals and nodal line semimetals exhibit distinct electronic band structures with linear band touching.
• Understanding the transitions between these topological phases is crucial for novel electronic applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To theoretically predict and investigate the transition from nodal line semimetals to Weyl semimetals.
• To explore the tunability of emergent Weyl points and anomalous Hall conductivity using circularly polarized light.

Main Methods:

• Theoretical modeling of nodal line semimetals subjected to circularly polarized light.
• Analysis of band structures and topological properties under light irradiation.
• Calculation of anomalous Hall conductivity.

Main Results:

• Circularly polarized light drives nodal line semimetals into a Weyl semimetal phase.
• Floquet Weyl points are generated and their properties are tunable via incident light.
• A large and tunable anomalous Hall conductivity emerges during the transition.

Conclusions:

• This work provides a pathway to engineer Weyl semimetals from nodal line semimetals using light.
• The tunable nature of Floquet Weyl points and anomalous Hall conductivity opens possibilities for controllable topological quantum phenomena.
• Experimental verification is feasible through transport measurements or pump-probe ARPES.