Large nonreciprocal absorption and emission of radiation in type-I Weyl semimetals with time reversal symmetry breaking

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that type-I Weyl semimetals with broken time reversal symmetry can exhibit large nonreciprocal radiation absorption and emission, enabling novel magneto-optical applications without external magnetic fields.

Contribution

It models nonreciprocal surface plasmons in Weyl semimetals, incorporating multiple Weyl nodes and Fermi-arc surface states, revealing significant nonreciprocity effects.

Findings

Nonreciprocal surface plasmons can be achieved without external magnetic fields.

Multiple Weyl nodes enhance nonreciprocal effects.

Fermi-arc surface states influence surface conductivity and nonreciprocity.

Abstract

The equality between the spectral, directional emittance and absorptance of an object under local thermal equilibrium is known as Kirchhoff's law of radiation. The breakdown of Kirchhoff's law of radiation is physically allowed by breaking time reversal symmetry and can open opportunities for nonreciprocal light emitters and absorbers. Large anomalous Hall conductivity and angle recently observed in topological Weyl semimetals, particularly type-I magnetic Weyl semimetals and type-II Weyl semimetals, are expected to create large nonreciprocal electromagnetic wave propagation. In this work, we focus on type-I magnetic Weyl semimetals and show via modeling and simulation that nonreciprocal surface plasmons polaritons can result in pronounced nonreciprocity without an external magnetic field. The modeling in this work begins with a single pair of Weyl nodes, followed by a more realistic model with multiple paired Weyl nodes. Fermi-arc surface states are also taken into account through the surface conductivity. This work points to the promising applicability of topological Weyl semimetals for magneto-optical and energy applications.