Tunable axial gauge fields in engineered Weyl semimetals: Semiclassical analysis and optical lattice implementations

TL;DR

This paper proposes methods to create and detect synthetic axial gauge fields in engineered Weyl semimetals, using cold-atom models and semiclassical analysis to explore their unique electromagnetic responses.

Contribution

It introduces realistic cold-atom models for axial gauge fields and provides protocols for their experimental detection through center-of-mass measurements.

Findings

Proposal of cold-atom models for axial gauge fields

Protocols for detecting axial Hall response and chiral effects

Numerical simulations confirming theoretical predictions

Abstract

In this work, we describe a toolbox to realize and probe synthetic axial gauge fields in engineered Weyl semimetals. These synthetic electromagnetic fields, which are sensitive to the chirality associated with Weyl nodes, emerge due to spatially and temporally dependent shifts of the corresponding Weyl momenta. First, we introduce two realistic models, inspired by recent cold-atom developments, which are particularly suitable for the exploration of these synthetic axial gauge fields. Second, we describe how to realize and measure the effects of such axial fields through center-of-mass observables, based on semiclassical equations of motion and exact numerical simulations. In particular, we suggest realistic protocols to reveal an axial Hall response due to the axial electric field $\mathbf{E}_5$, and also, the axial cyclotron orbits and chiral pseudo-magnetic effect due to the axial magnetic field $\mathbf{B}_5$.