Rashba effective spin-orbit coupling in photonic lattices

We demonstrate theoretically and experimentally the Rashba effect using light in two "counterpropagating" photonic lattices. We observe breaking of inversion symmetry in the resulting band structure

Photoinduced quantum magnetotransport properties of silicene and germanene

Silicene and germanene have remarkable electronic properties due to strong spin orbit coupling and buckled single layer structures. We derive and analyze the band structures of these materials in the presence of perpendicular electric and magnetic fields taking into account the effects of off-resonant light. Using linear response theory, analytical expressions are derived and evaluated for the Hall and longitudinal conductivities. Contrary to graphene, we show that the light leads to a single Dirac cone state and thus to unusual plateaus and magnetotransport properties, which are desirable for electronic applications

Dynamical merging of Dirac points in the periodically driven Kitaev honeycomb model

We study the effect of a half wave rectified sinusoidal electromagnetic (EM) wave on the Kitaev honeycomb model with an additional magneto-electric coupling term {arising due to induced polarization of the bonds. Within the framework of Floquet analysis, we show that merging of a pair of Dirac points in the gapless region of the Kitaev model leading to a semi-Dirac spectrum is indeed possible} by externally varying the amplitude and the phase of the EM field.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures: Text modified and new figures adde