Multi-level interference resonances in strongly-driven three-level systems

We study multi-photon resonances in a strongly-driven three-level quantum system, where one level is periodically swept through a pair of levels with constant energy separation $E$. Near the multi-photon resonance condition $n\hbar\omega = E$, where $n$ is an integer, we find qualitatively different behavior for $n$ even or odd. We explain this phenomenon in terms of families of interfering trajectories of the multi-level system. Remarkably, the behavior is insensitive to fluctuations of the energy of the driven level, and survives deep into the strong dephasing regime. The setup can be relevant for a variety of solid state and atomic or molecular systems. In particular, it provides a clear mechanism to explain recent puzzling experimental observations in strongly-driven double quantum dots.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Topological singularities and the general classification of Floquet-Bloch systems

Recent works have demonstrated that the Floquet-Bloch bands of periodically-driven systems feature a richer topological structure than their non-driven counterparts. The additional structure in the driven case arises from the periodicity of quasienergy, the energy-like quantity that defines the spectrum of a periodically-driven system. Here we develop a new paradigm for the topological classification of Floquet-Bloch bands, based on the time-dependent spectrum of the driven system's evolution operator throughout one driving period. Specifically, we show that this spectrum may host topologically-protected degeneracies at intermediate times, which control the topology of the Floquet bands of the full driving cycle. This approach provides a natural framework for incorporating the role of symmetries, enabling a unified and complete classification of Floquet-Bloch bands and yielding new insight into the topological features that distinguish driven and non-driven systems.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figure

Many-body dynamics and gap opening in interacting periodically driven systems

We study the transient dynamics in a two-dimensional system of interacting Dirac fermions subject to a quenched drive with circularly polarized light. In the absence of interactions, the drive opens a gap at the Dirac point in the quasienergy spectrum, inducing nontrivial band topology. Here we investigate the dynamics of this gap opening process in the presence of interactions, as captured by the generalized spectral function and correlators probed by photoemission experiments. Through a mechanism akin to that known for equilibrium systems, interactions renormalize and enhance the induced gap over its value for the non-interacting system. We additionally study the heating that naturally accompanies driving in the interacting system, and discuss the regimes where dynamical gap emergence and enhancement can be probed before heating becomes significant

Berryogenesis: self-induced Berry flux and spontaneous non-equilibrium magnetism

Spontaneous symmetry breaking is central to the description of interacting phases of matter. Here we reveal a new mechanism through which a driven interacting system subject to a time-reversal symmetric driving field can spontaneously magnetize. We show that the strong internal ac fields of a metal driven close to its plasmon resonance may enable Berryogenesis: the spontaneous generation of a self-induced Bloch band Berry flux. The self-induced Berry flux supports and is sustained by a circulating plasmonic motion, which may arise even for a linearly polarized driving field. This non-equilibrium phase transition occurs above a critical driving amplitude, and may be of either continuous or discontinuous type. Berryogenesis relies on feedback due to interband coherences induced by internal fields, and may readily occur in a wide variety of multiband systems. We anticipate that graphene devices, in particular, provide a natural platform to achieve Berryogenesis and plasmon-mediated spontaneous non-equilibrium magnetization in present-day devices

Chiral plasmons without magnetic field

Plasmons, the collective oscillations of interacting electrons, possess emergent properties that dramatically alter the optical response of metals. We predict the existence of a new class of plasmons -- chiral Berry plasmons (CBPs) -- for a wide range of two-dimensional metallic systems including gapped Dirac materials. As we show, in these materials the interplay between Berry curvature and electron-electron interactions yields chiral plasmonic modes at zero magnetic field. The CBP modes are confined to system boundaries, even in the absence of topological edge states, with chirality manifested in split energy dispersions for oppositely directed plasmon waves. We unveil a rich CBP phenomenology and propose setups for realizing them, including in anomalous Hall metals and optically-pumped 2D Dirac materials. Realization of CBPs will offer a new paradigm for magnetic field-free, sub-wavelength optical non-reciprocity, in the mid IR-THz range, with tunable splittings as large as tens of THz, as well as sensitive all-optical diagnostics of topological bands.Comment: 10 pgs, 3 fg

Floquet metal to insulator phase transitions in semiconductor nanowires

We study steady-states of semiconductor nanowires subjected to strong resonant time-periodic drives. The steady-states arise from the balance between electron-phonon scattering, electron-hole recombination via photo-emission, and Auger scattering processes. We show that tuning the strength of the driving field drives a transition between an electron-hole metal (EHM) phase and a Floquet insulator (FI) phase. We study the critical point controlling this transition. The EHM-to-FI transition can be observed by monitoring the presence of peaks in the density-density response function which are associated with the Fermi momentum of the EHM phase, and are absent in the FI phase. Our results may help guide future studies towards inducing novel non-equilibrium phases of matter by periodic driving.Comment: 10 pages including appendice

The theory of coherent dynamic nuclear polarization in quantum dots

We consider the dynamic nuclear spin polarization (DNP) using two electrons in a double quantum dot in presence of external magnetic field and spin-orbit interaction, in various schemes of periodically repeated sweeps through the S-T+ avoided crossing. By treating the problem semi-classically, we find that generally the DNP have two distinct contributions - a geometrical polarization and a dynamic polarization, which have different dependence on the control parameters such as the sweep rates and waiting times in each period. Both terms show non-trivial dependence on those control parameter. We find that even for small spin-orbit term, the dynamical polarization dominates the DNP in presence of a long waiting period near the S-T+ avoided crossing, of the order of the nuclear Larmor precession periods. A detailed numerical analysis of a specific control regime can explain the oscillations observed by Foletti et.~al.~in arXiv:0801.3613.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figure