Floquet Scattering Theory based on Effective Hamiltonians of Driven Systems

TL;DR

This paper develops a Floquet scattering formalism based on effective Hamiltonians for periodically driven systems, enabling better understanding of wavepacket dynamics and non-reciprocal transport through high-frequency expansion and micromotion analysis.

Contribution

It introduces a systematic Floquet scattering theory using effective Hamiltonians, extending Floquet engineering beyond wavepacket dynamics to scattering processes.

Findings

Unveils the role of micromotion in Floquet scattering.

Provides a high-frequency expansion method for scattering matrices.

Demonstrates application to non-reciprocal transport phenomena.

Abstract

The design of time-independent effective Hamiltonians that describe periodically modulated systems, provides a promising approach to realize new forms of matter. This, so-called, Floquet engineering approach is currently limited to the description of wavepacket dynamics. Here, we utilize the notion of effective Hamiltonians and develop a Floquet engineering scattering formalism that relies on a systematic high-frequency expansion of the scattering matrix. The method unveils the critical role of micromotion. An application to the case of non-reciprocal transport is presented.