Optically engineering the topological properties of a spin Hall insulator

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how monochromatic circularly polarized light can be used to engineer and control the topological properties of a spin Hall insulator, affecting its edge states and photocurrent behavior.

Contribution

It introduces a method to manipulate topological features of a spin Hall insulator using time-periodic optical perturbations, highlighting the role of Zeeman coupling over orbital effects.

Findings

Photocurrent and edge magnetization depend on light helicity.

Transition from dissipationless to dissipative behavior with increasing frequency.

Connection established with Thouless' charge pumping and non-equilibrium phenomena.

Abstract

Time-periodic perturbations can be used to engineer topological properties of matter by altering the Floquet band structure. This is demonstrated for a spin Hall insulator in the presence of monochromatic circularly polarized light. The inherent spin structure of the edge state is influenced by the Zeeman coupling and not by the orbital effect. The photocurrent (and the magnetization along the edge) develops a finite, helicity dependent expectation value and turns from dissipationless to dissipative with increasing radiation frequency, signalling a change in the topological properties. The connection with Thouless' charge pumping and non-equilibrium Zitterbewegung is discussed, together with possible experiments.