Chiral terahertz wave emission from the Weyl semimetal TaAs

Abstract

As a fascinating topological phase of matter, 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 chiral terahertz emission from the Weyl semimetal TaAs and demonstrate unprecedented manipulation over its polarization on a femtosecond timescale. Such polarization control is achieved via the colossal ultrafast photocurrents in TaAs arising from the circular or linear photogalvanic effect. We unravel that the chiral ultrafast photocurrents are attributed to the large band velocity changes when the Weyl fermions are excited from the Weyl bands to the high-lying bands. The photocurrent generation is maximized at near-IR frequency range close to 1.5 eV. Our findings provide an entirely new design concept for creating chiral photon sources using quantum materials and open up new opportunities for developing ultrafast opto-electronics using Weyl physics.

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• Nonperturbative Topological Current in Weyl and Dirac Semimetals in Laser Fields
• Role of topological charges in the nonlinear-optical response from Weyl semimetals
• Observation of the massive Lee-Fukuyama phason in a charge density wave insulator
• First principles calculation of shift current in chalcopyrite semiconductor ZnSnP${}_2$
• Enhanced higher harmonic generation from nodal topology
• Valley-dependent time evolution of coherent electron states in tilted anisotropic Dirac materials
• Equivalence of semiclassical and response theories for second-order nonlinear ac Hall effects
• Electric quadrupole second harmonic generation revealing dual magnetic orders in a magnetic Weyl semimetal
• Photocurrent response in parity-time symmetric current-ordered states
• Photocurrent generation in solids via linearly polarized laser
• How massless are Weyl fermions in Weyl semimetals?
• High-harmonic generation in semi-Dirac and Weyl semimetals with broken time-reversal symmetry: Exploring merging of Weyl nodes
• Tailoring Photocurrent in Weyl Semimetals via Intense Laser Irradiation
• Chiral kinetic theory of anomalous transport induced by torsion
• Addressing Shape and Extent of Weyl cones in TaAs by Landau level spectroscopy
• Transverse Chiral Magnetic Photocurrent Induced by Linearly Polarized Light in Mirror-Symmetric Weyl Semimetals
• Photocurrent-driven transient symmetry breaking in the Weyl semimetal TaAs
• The evolution of Weyl nodes in Ni doped thallium niobate pyrochlore Tl${}_{2-x}$Ni${}_x$Nb${}_2$O${}_7$
• High-order harmonic generations in tilted Weyl semimetals
• Population inversion and ultrafast terahertz nonlinearity of transient Dirac fermions in Cd${}_3$As${}_2$
• Nonlinear optical responses in multi-orbital topological superconductors
• Strong nonlinear optical response and transient symmetry switching in Type-II Weyl semimetal $\beta$-WP2
• Exploration of growth conditions of TaAs Weyl semimetal thin film by pulsed laser deposition
• Comparative Analysis of THz Signal Emission from SiO${}_2$/CoFeB/Metal Heterostructures: Wideband and High-Frequency THz Signal Advantage of PtBi-based Emitter
• Tunable chiral symmetry breaking in symmetric Weyl materials
• Theory of Photocurrent and High-Harmonic Generation with Chiral Fermions
• High-pressure control of optical nonlinearity in the polar Weyl semimetal TaAs
• Vertex correction for the linear and nonlinear optical responses in superconductors: multiband effect and topological superconductivity
• Terahertz resonant emission by optically excited infrared-active shear phonons in KY(MoO4)2
• Magnetic Photocurrents in Multifold Weyl Fermions
• Direct Measurement of Helicoid Surface States in RhSi using Nonlinear Optics
• Research on topological materials using ultrafast spectroscopy