Imbert-Fedorov shift in pseudospin-$N/2$ semimetals and nodal-line semimetals

TL;DR

This paper explores the Imbert-Fedorov shift in topological semimetals with pseudospin-$N/2$ and nodal-line semimetals, revealing how the shift depends on pseudospin components, symmetries, and topological transitions, with implications for experimental detection.

Contribution

It introduces the pseudospin Hall effect of topological fermions and demonstrates how the IF shift can indicate topological Lifshitz transitions in nodal-line semimetals.

Findings

IF shift depends on pseudospin components and chirality.

IF shift is zero in symmetric NLSMs, finite otherwise.

IF shift can detect topological Lifshitz transitions.

Abstract

The Imbert-Fedorov (IF) shift is the transverse shift of a beam at a surface or an interface. It is a manifestation of the three-component Berry curvature in three dimensions, and has been studied in optical systems and Weyl semimetals. Here we investigate the IF shift in two types of topological systems, topological semimetals with pseudospin-$N/2$ for an arbitrary integer $N$, and nodal-line semimetals (NLSMs). For the former, we find the IF shift depends on the components of the pseudospin, with the sign depending on the chirality. We term this phenomenon the pseudospin Hall effect of topological fermions. The shift can also be interpreted as a consequence of the conservation of the total angular momentum. For the latter, if the NLSM has both time-reversal and inversion symmetries, the IF shift is zero; otherwise it could be finite. We take the NLSM with a vortex ring, which breaks both symmetries, as an example, and show that the IF shift can be used to detect topological Lifshitz transitions. Finally, we propose experimental designs to detect the IF shift.