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Coherent Perfect Absorption in Weyl Semimetals: A Path to Topologically Enhanced Light-Matter Interactions

by Güneş Oktay, Mehmet Ertan Indap, Mustafa Sarisaman

Submission summary

Authors (as registered SciPost users):

Mustafa Sarisaman

Abstract

This study explores the unique intersection of Topological Weyl Semimetals (TWS) and non-Hermitian physics, focusing on the potential of Coherent Perfect Absorbers (CPAs) in such materials, with the investigation based on the fact that CPA is viewed as time-reversed lasers. We introduce a theoretical model for TWS CPAs based on the transfer matrix method, demonstrating that topologically protected surface states lead to 12 distinct feasible CPA configurations characterized by quantized loss values. This study offers a novel approach to understanding self-dual spectral singularities in the context of TWS and examines the impact of the axion term on the system's scattering behavior. Our findings reveal how the Theta-term significantly affects the loss value and its topological quantization, triggering the Weyl transition which leads to the multi-fold branching of these singularities and results in stable CPA states. CPA action induces the formation of topologically protected circular Hall currents within the TWS. These results pave the way for designing efficient, tunable, and topologically protected devices within non-Hermitian systems.

Author indications on fulfilling journal expectations

• Provide a novel and synergetic link between different research areas.
• Open a new pathway in an existing or a new research direction, with clear potential for multi-pronged follow-up work
• Detail a groundbreaking theoretical/experimental/computational discovery
• Present a breakthrough on a previously-identified and long-standing research stumbling block