Chiral terahertz wave emission from the Weyl semimetal TaAs

Y. Gao, S. Kaushik, E. J. Philip, Z. Li, Y. Qin, Y. P. Liu, W. L. Zhang, Y. L. Su, X. Chen, H. Weng, D. E. Kharzeev (), M. K. Liu () and J. Qi ()
Additional contact information
Y. Gao: University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
S. Kaushik: Stony Brook University
E. J. Philip: Stony Brook University
Z. Li: Beijing Key Laboratory of Quantum Devices, Peking University
Y. Qin: University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
Y. P. Liu: Fudan University
W. L. Zhang: University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
Y. L. Su: University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
X. Chen: Stony Brook University
H. Weng: Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
D. E. Kharzeev: Stony Brook University
M. K. Liu: Stony Brook University
J. Qi: University of Electronic Science and Technology of China

Nature Communications, 2020, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Weyl semimetals host chiral fermions with distinct chiralities and spin textures. Optical excitations involving those chiral fermions can induce exotic carrier responses, and in turn lead to novel optical phenomena. Here, we discover strong coherent terahertz emission from Weyl semimetal TaAs, which is demonstrated as a unique broadband source of the chiral terahertz wave. The polarization control of the THz emission is achieved by tuning photoexcitation of ultrafast photocurrents via the photogalvanic effect. In the near-infrared regime, the photon-energy dependent nonthermal current due to the predominant circular photogalvanic effect can be attributed to the radical change of the band velocities when the chiral Weyl fermions are excited during selective optical transitions between the tilted anisotropic Weyl cones and the massive bulk bands. Our findings provide a design concept for creating chiral photon sources using quantum materials and open up new opportunities for developing ultrafast opto-electronics using Weyl physics.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-14463-1

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