Unidirectional Transport in Electronic and Photonic Weyl Materials by Dirac Mass Engineering

TL;DR

This paper proposes a theoretical method to achieve unidirectional transport in three-dimensional Weyl materials through Dirac mass engineering, with potential experimental realization in photonic and electronic systems.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach to induce unidirectional modes in bulk Weyl materials by manipulating Dirac masses, extending the phenomenon beyond two-dimensional systems.

Findings

Unidirectional modes can be generated in photonic Weyl crystals.

A lattice model shows spontaneous Dirac mass generation via a first-order transition.

Feasible experimental setups for observing unidirectional transport are proposed.

Abstract

Unidirectional transports have been observed in two-dimensional systems, however, so far they have not been experimentally observed in three-dimensional bulk materials. In this theoretical work we show that the recently discovered Weyl materials provide a platform for unidirectional transports inside bulk materials. With high experimental feasibility, a complex Dirac mass can be generated and manipulated in the photonic Weyl crystals, creating unidirectionally propagating modes observable in transmission experiments. Possible realization in (electronic) Weyl semimetals is also studied. We show in a lattice model that, with a short-range interaction, the desired form of the Dirac mass can be spontaneously generated in a first-order transition.