Relationship of Time Reversal Symmetry Breaking with Optical Kerr Rotation

Abstract

We prove an instance of the Reciprocity Theorem that demonstrates that Kerr rotation, also known as the magneto-optical Kerr effect, may only arise in materials that break microscopic time reversal symmetry. This argument applies in the linear response regime, and only fails for nonlinear effects. Recent measurements with a modified Sagnac Interferometer have found finite Kerr rotation in a variety of superconductors. The Sagnac Interferometer is a probe for nonreciprocity, so it must be that time reversal symmetry is broken in these materials.

6 pages

References in corpus (5)

• Modified Sagnac interferometer for high-sensitivity magneto-optic measurements atcryogenic temperatures
• Kerr effect as evidence of gyrotropic order in the cuprates
• Magneto-optical signatures of a cascade of transitions in La${}_2-x$Ba${}_x$CuO${}_4$
• Absence of the polar Kerr effect in the helical loop-current model [Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 047005 (2013)]
• Quantum Reciprocity Conjecture for the Non-Equilibrium Steady State

Cited by in corpus (5)

• Kerr effect as evidence of gyrotropic order in the cuprates - revisited
• Notes on Constraints for the Observation of Polar Kerr Effect in Complex Materials
• Spin canting and lattice symmetry in La${}_2$CuO${}_4$
• Spin-glass state in nickelate superconductors
• Gyrotropic magnetic effect in metallic chiral magnets