Quantum anomalous Hall effect induced by circularly polarized light on samarium hexaboride surface

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that circularly polarized light can induce a quantum anomalous Hall state on the surface of samarium hexaboride, with a quantized Hall conductance characterized by a Chern number of one, using Floquet theory.

Contribution

It introduces a novel theoretical framework showing how circularly polarized light induces the quantum anomalous Hall effect on samarium hexaboride surfaces.

Findings

Quantum anomalous Hall state can be induced by circularly polarized light.

The Chern number is unity for both polarizations.

The effect is mildly dependent on light intensity.

Abstract

We examine a time-dependent, surface Hamiltonian for the 3D compound samarium hexaboride based on the slave boson protocol linked version of the periodic Anderson model reported earlier. The problem of large on-site electron-electron repulsion was reformulated in terms of a holonomic constraint involving a term representing the spatially-independent Slave boson-condensate. In this communication, we show the possible access to the quantum anomalous Hall state due to the normal incidence of circularly polarized light on the surface of the compound in the high frequency limit within the framework of the Floquet theory. The value of the term is mildly affected by the intensity of incident radiation. The chern number is found to be unity for the right-handed as well as the left-handed circularly polarized light.