Axionic surface wave in dynamical axion insulators

Abstract

The electromagnetic response of three-dimensional topological insulators can be described by an effective axion action with a quantized axion field. Once both time-reversal and inversion symmetries are broken, for example, in antiferromagnetic topological insulators, the axion field becomes dynamical along with magnetic fluctuations. The dynamical axion field, when coupled to electromagnetic fields, can lead to rich physical phenomena. Here, based on the modified Maxwell's equations, we reveal the existence of an exotic type of polariton excitation, termed a surface axion polariton, which propagates in the interface between a dynamical axion insulator and a dielectric. When doping the dynamical axion insulator to be metallic, the coexistence of axion-photon coupling and plasmon-photon coupling will further generate a mixed surface axion plasmon polariton. We also propose a Kretschmann-Raether configuration to experimentally detect the surface axion polariton. Our result provides an alternative way to study the axion electrodynamics in condensed matter physics.

6 pages, 4 figures

References in corpus (6)

• Topological Field Theory of Time-Reversal Invariant Insulators
• Crystal growth and magnetic structure of MnBi2Te4
• Chiral anomaly, Charge Density Waves, and Axion Strings from Weyl Semimetals
• Axion Electrodynamics in Topological Materials
• Electric-Magnetic Duality and Topological Insulators
• Surface plasmon polaritons in strained Weyl semimetals

Cited by in corpus (4)

• Light-induced half-quantized Hall effect and axion insulator
• Symmetry-driven anisotropic coupling effect in antiferromagnetic topological insulator: Mechanism for high-Chern-number quantum anomalous Hall state
• Multiphoton Spectroscopy of a Dynamical Axion Insulator
• Probing dynamical axion quasiparticles with two-photon correlations