High-order harmonic generation in three-dimensional Weyl semimetals

TL;DR

This paper investigates high-order harmonic generation in three-dimensional Weyl semimetals, revealing unique polarization and intensity characteristics influenced by Weyl node separation, with implications for nonlinear electrodynamics in topological materials.

Contribution

It provides a structure-gauge invariant analysis of nonlinear harmonic spectra in WSMs, highlighting the role of Weyl node separation and the disappearance of anomalous harmonics when Weyl fermions merge.

Findings

Anomalous harmonics are generated perpendicular to the pump electric field.

The intensity of anomalous harmonics depends quadratically on Weyl node separation.

Normal harmonic spectra resemble those of massless 3D Dirac fermions.

Abstract

In this paper, the nonlinear interaction of Weyl semimetal (WSM) with a strong driving electromagnetic wave-field is investigated. In the scope of the structure-gauge invariant low-energy nonlinear electrodynamic theory, the polarization-resolved high-order harmonic generation spectra in WSM are analyzed. The obtained results show that the spectra in WSM are completely different compared to 2D graphene case. In particular, at the non-collinear arrangement of the electric and Weyl nodes' momentum separation vectors, an anomalous harmonics are generated which are polarised perpendicular to the pump wave electric field. The intensities of anomalous harmonics are quadratically dependent on the momentum space separation of the Weyl nodes. If the right and the left Weyl fermions are merged, we have a 4-component trivial massless Dirac fermion and, as a consequence, the anomalous harmonics vanish. In contrast to the anomalous harmonics, the intensities of normal harmonics do not depend on the Weyl nodes' momentum separation vector, and the harmonics spectra resemble the picture for a massless 3D Dirac fermion.