Imbert-Fedorov shift in Weyl semimetals: Dependence on monopole charge and intervalley scattering

Abstract

The Imbert-Fedorov (IF) shift in optics describes the transverse shift of light beams at the reflection interface. Recently, the IF shift of Weyl fermions at the interface between Weyl semimetals (WSMs) with single monopole charge has been studied. Here, we study the IF shift at the interface between two WSMs, each of which is carrying an arbitrary integer monopole charge. We find a general relation between the monopole charges of the two WSMs and the IF shift. In particular, the IF shift is proportional to the monopole charge if both WSMs have the same one. Our results can be used to infer the topology of the materials by experimentally measuring their IF shift. Furthermore, we consider the possibility that the Weyl fermions are scattered to other Weyl cones during the reflection, which results in qualitatively different behavior of the IF shift. While we use a quantum mechanical approach to solve the problem, semiclassical equations of motion and the conservation of total angular momentum can help us intuitively interpret our results in special cases.

7 pages, 3 figures, published version

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• Weyl semimetal phase in non-centrosymmetric transition metal monophosphides
• Conservation of Angular Momentum, Transverse Shift, and Spin Hall Effect in Reflection and Refraction of Electromagnetic Wave Packet
• Weyl Node and Spin Texture in Trigonal Tellurium and Selenium
• Weyl semimetals from noncentrosymmetric topological insulators
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• Transport across junctions of a Weyl and a multi-Weyl semimetal
• Unconventional pairing induced anomalous transverse shift in Andreev reflection
• Imbert-Fedorov shift in pseudospin-$N/2$ semimetals and nodal-line semimetals
• Scattering of relativistic electrons and analogies with optical phenomena: A study of longitudinal and transverse shifts at step potentials
• A semiclassical approach to surface Fermi arcs in Weyl semimetals
• In-plane Antiferromagnetism in Ferromagnetic Kagome Semimetal Co3Sn2S2