Light-induced pseudo-magnetic fields in three-dimensional topological semimetals
Pith reviewed 2026-05-18 08:07 UTC · model grok-4.3
The pith
Spatially varying linearly polarized light generates controllable pseudo-magnetic fields in Weyl semimetals through Floquet engineering.
A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.
Core claim
Within a high-frequency expansion, the light profile maps to an effective axial gauge potential A5(r) whose curl produces the pseudo-magnetic field B5(r). This Floquet approach replicates the effects of strain-induced gauge fields while providing advantages such as real-time tunability and the absence of lattice deformation. The resulting Landau levels and optical conductivities furnish concrete experimental signatures.
What carries the argument
The effective axial gauge potential A5(r) obtained by mapping the spatially varying light profile onto the driven Weyl Hamiltonian in the high-frequency limit.
If this is right
- Uniform pseudo-magnetic fields produce Landau-level spectra directly comparable to those of ordinary magnetic fields.
- The linear optical conductivity exhibits distinct features traceable to the optically induced gauge potential.
- Second-order dc responses supply clear experimental fingerprints of the engineered pseudo-magnetic field.
- Real-time spatial and temporal control of the field becomes possible without lattice strain.
Where Pith is reading between the lines
- The same light-patterning method could be applied to other three-dimensional topological semimetals to test the generality of the axial-gauge mapping.
- Combining this approach with time-dependent modulation might enable studies of dynamical gauge-field effects on transport.
- Optical control could allow rapid switching between different pseudo-magnetic textures in a single device.
Load-bearing premise
The high-frequency expansion used to derive the effective axial gauge potential from the light profile remains valid and captures the leading pseudo-magnetic field effects without significant higher-order corrections or material-specific details.
What would settle it
Spectroscopic detection of the predicted Landau-level spacing or the characteristic features in linear optical conductivity under a spatially patterned light field would confirm the claim; the absence of those signatures at the expected drive frequencies and intensities would falsify it.
Figures
read the original abstract
In this work, we show that suitably designed spatially varying linearly polarized light provides a versatile route to generate and control pseudo-magnetic fields in Weyl semimetals through Floquet engineering. Within a high-frequency expansion, we derive an effective axial gauge potential $\mathbf{A}_5(\mathbf{r})$ whose curl gives the pseudo-magnetic field $\mathbf{B}_5(\mathbf{r})$. By mapping the light profile to $\mathbf{A}_5(\mathbf{r})$, we establish design principles for pseudo-magnetic field textures that mimic strain-induced gauge fields while offering key advantages like dynamic control, full reversibility, spatial selectivity, and absence of material deformation. We compare the Landau-level spectra produced by uniform real and pseudo-magnetic fields and also analyze both their linear optical conductivity and the second-order dc responses. Our results enable real-time manipulation of pseudo-magnetic fields and predict clear experimental signatures for optically engineered gauge fields in topological semimetals.
Editorial analysis
A structured set of objections, weighed in public.
Referee Report
Summary. The manuscript claims that suitably designed spatially varying linearly polarized light generates controllable pseudo-magnetic fields in Weyl semimetals via Floquet engineering. Within a high-frequency expansion, an effective axial gauge potential A5(r) is derived whose curl yields B5(r). Design principles are given for field textures that mimic strain-induced gauge fields but offer dynamic control, reversibility, and no material deformation. The work compares Landau-level spectra for uniform real versus pseudo-magnetic fields and analyzes linear optical conductivity together with second-order dc responses.
Significance. If the central mapping holds, the result supplies a practical, non-destructive route to engineer and tune pseudo-magnetic fields in 3D topological semimetals, with clear advantages over static strain. The predicted optical and transport signatures furnish falsifiable experimental tests and extend Floquet methods to axial gauge fields.
major comments (2)
- [high-frequency expansion derivation of A5(r)] The high-frequency expansion that produces A5(r) from a spatially varying drive (described in the abstract and the derivation of the effective axial potential) does not supply explicit validity bounds that incorporate the additional spatial-gradient scale. Spatial variation introduces a length scale that can enter the Magnus or van Vleck corrections at the same order as the leading term, so the claim that curl A5 directly gives the dominant B5 requires a quantitative error estimate or comparison to the full time-periodic Hamiltonian.
- [comparison of Landau levels and optical responses] No direct numerical validation of the effective A5(r) against exact Floquet or time-dependent simulations is presented for any concrete light profile that possesses both temporal frequency ω and spatial gradients. Such a check is load-bearing for the central claim that the leading-order pseudo-magnetic field is experimentally accessible without higher-order corrections.
minor comments (2)
- [abstract and introduction] Notation for the axial vector potential is introduced without an explicit statement of the gauge choice or the relation to the underlying Weyl-node separation.
- [figures] Figure captions for the Landau-level spectra and conductivity plots should state the precise light-profile parameters and the value of ω used in the expansion.
Simulated Author's Rebuttal
We thank the referee for the careful reading and constructive comments on our manuscript. The points raised concerning the validity regime of the high-frequency expansion and the desirability of numerical checks are well taken. We address each major comment below and indicate the revisions made to strengthen the presentation.
read point-by-point responses
-
Referee: [high-frequency expansion derivation of A5(r)] The high-frequency expansion that produces A5(r) from a spatially varying drive (described in the abstract and the derivation of the effective axial potential) does not supply explicit validity bounds that incorporate the additional spatial-gradient scale. Spatial variation introduces a length scale that can enter the Magnus or van Vleck corrections at the same order as the leading term, so the claim that curl A5 directly gives the dominant B5 requires a quantitative error estimate or comparison to the full time-periodic Hamiltonian.
Authors: We agree that explicit validity bounds incorporating the spatial-gradient scale are required for rigor. Within the high-frequency Magnus expansion, the leading effective axial gauge potential A5(r) is obtained from the time average of the drive, while corrections appear at O(1/ω) and involve nested commutators. Spatial gradients enter these commutators through derivatives acting on the position-dependent vector potential. In the revised manuscript we add a new subsection that derives the leading error term, which is controlled by the dimensionless ratio v_F |∇| / ω. The approximation that B5 = ∇ × A5 is dominant therefore holds when the spatial variation length L satisfies v_F / L ≪ ω (or an equivalent bound set by the bandwidth). We also provide an analytic comparison of the effective model to the next-order term for a representative Gaussian beam profile, confirming that the correction remains perturbatively small under the stated condition. revision: yes
-
Referee: [comparison of Landau levels and optical responses] No direct numerical validation of the effective A5(r) against exact Floquet or time-dependent simulations is presented for any concrete light profile that possesses both temporal frequency ω and spatial gradients. Such a check is load-bearing for the central claim that the leading-order pseudo-magnetic field is experimentally accessible without higher-order corrections.
Authors: We acknowledge that a direct numerical benchmark against the full time-periodic Hamiltonian would be valuable. Performing exact Floquet or real-time simulations for a three-dimensional lattice with both temporal driving and spatial inhomogeneity is computationally demanding, as it requires system sizes large enough to resolve the spatial profile while maintaining periodic boundary conditions in time. In the revised manuscript we therefore supply an analytic error estimate obtained by expanding the time-evolution operator to the next order in 1/ω for a concrete, spatially varying drive (a focused Gaussian beam). This estimate shows that the leading-order pseudo-magnetic field remains the dominant contribution when the adiabaticity condition derived in the new subsection is satisfied. While a full numerical validation lies beyond the scope of the present work, the analytic bound provides a quantitative criterion for experimental accessibility of the predicted B5. revision: partial
Circularity Check
High-frequency Floquet derivation of A5(r) is independent and non-circular
full rationale
The paper applies a standard high-frequency expansion to a time-periodic Hamiltonian with spatially varying light to obtain an effective axial gauge potential A5(r), from which B5 = curl A5 follows directly. This mapping is derived from the Floquet-Magnus or van Vleck expansion rather than fitted to data or defined self-referentially. No load-bearing self-citations, ansatz smuggling, or uniqueness theorems from prior author work are invoked to force the result. The derivation chain remains self-contained against external benchmarks for the effective Hamiltonian, with no reduction of the central claim to its own inputs by construction.
Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger
axioms (1)
- domain assumption High-frequency expansion of the Floquet Hamiltonian yields an effective axial gauge potential A5(r) from the light profile.
Reference graph
Works this paper leans on
-
[1]
For faster numerical evaluation ofE(x|2), we used the Carl- son’s symmetric forms. Most importantly, this choice of A(y)results inB 5 ≈ − ℏ ea γ2 0 8 A1ˆ zwhich has almost no spatial dependence. 2.Balongˆ z As before, we consider the linearly polarized light de- scribed by Eq. (20) but withA(y) =A 0. This implies thatB 5 = 0and instead we consider a unifo...
-
[2]
We need to find the velocity matrix elements first
Calculatingσ abc inj The injection conductivity is given by σabc inj = τ e3ℏ l2 B Z dkz 2π X s̸=s′ fss′ (va ss −v a s′s′)vb ss′vc s′s E2 ss′ δ(Ess′ −ℏω), (E14) wheres, s ′ are the Landau level indices with|s⟩=|n, λ⟩ andλ={+,−}. We need to find the velocity matrix elements first. The velocity operators are given by ˆvx =uσ x,(E15) ˆvy =uσ y,(E16) ˆvz =u tI...
-
[3]
Calculatingσ zz The longitudinal linear conductivity is given by σzz(ω) = −ie2ℏ 2πl2 B Z dkz 2π X s̸=s′ fss′ Ess′ |vz ss′|2 (ℏω+iη−E ss′) . (E27) Let us focus on its real part, given by Re[σzz(ω)] = −e2ℏ 2l2 B Z dkz 2π X s̸=s′ fss′ |vz ss′|2 Ess′ δ(Ess′ −ℏω). (E28) Withµ= 0,u t = 0andω >0, we get Re[σzz(ω)] = e2ℏu2 z 4πl2 B X n≥1 Z dkz (α+ n α− n −β + n β...
-
[4]
0.01 0.02 (a) Real part of the linear conductivityσ zz
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0. 0.01 0.02 (a) Real part of the linear conductivityσ zz
-
[5]
0.01 0.02 (b) Real part of the linear conductivityσ xx
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0. 0.01 0.02 (b) Real part of the linear conductivityσ xx
-
[6]
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0 2 4 6 (c) Injection conductivityσ zxy FIG. 13. The numerically computed conductivities for uniform magnetic field from Figs. 11, 10 and 12 are shown in blue. We compare them against the analytical results (orange) applied to its low energy linearized version. Re[σzz(ω)] = e2 ℏa |uz| u a lB ζ2 2 √ 2π j 1 4ζ2 k X n=1 nq 1 4ζ2 −n Θ 1 4ζ...
-
[7]
N. P. Armitage, E. J. Mele, and A. Vishwanath, Weyl and dirac semimetals in three-dimensional solids, Rev. Mod. Phys.90, 015001 (2018)
work page 2018
-
[8]
R. Ilan, A. G. Grushin, and D. I. Pikulin, Pseudo- electromagnetic fields in 3D topological semimetals, Na- ture Reviews Physics2, 29 (2020)
work page 2020
-
[9]
A. Cortijo, Y. Ferreirós, K. Landsteiner, and M. A. H. Vozmediano, Elastic gauge fields in weyl semimetals, Phys. Rev. Lett.115, 177202 (2015)
work page 2015
- [10]
-
[11]
N. Levy, S. A. Burke, K. L. Meaker, M. Panlasigui, A. Zettl, F. Guinea, A. H. Castro Neto, and M. F. Crom- mie, Strain-induced pseudo-magnetic fields greater than 300 tesla in graphene nanobubbles, Science329, 544 15 (2010)
work page 2010
-
[12]
A. G. Grushin, J. W. F. Venderbos, A. Vishwanath, and R. Ilan, Inhomogeneous weyl and dirac semimetals: Transport in axial magnetic fields and fermi arc surface states from pseudo-landau levels, Physical Review X6, 041046 (2016)
work page 2016
-
[13]
D. I. Pikulin, A. Chen, and M. Franz, Chiral anomaly from strain-induced gauge fields in dirac and weyl semimetals, Physical Review X6, 041021 (2016)
work page 2016
-
[14]
D. Sabsovich, T. Meng, D. I. Pikulin, R. Queiroz, and R. Ilan, Pseudo field effects in type ii weyl semimetals: new probes for over tilted cones, Journal of Physics: Con- densed Matter32, 484002 (2020)
work page 2020
- [15]
- [16]
-
[17]
Araki, Magnetic textures and dynamics in magnetic Weyl semimetals, Ann
H. Araki, Magnetic textures and dynamics in magnetic Weyl semimetals, Ann. Phys. (Berlin)532, 1900287 (2020)
work page 2020
- [18]
-
[19]
A.Ozawa, Y.Araki,andK.Nomura,Chiralgaugefieldin fully spin-polarized magnetic weyl semimetal with mag- netic domain walls, Journal of the Physical Society of Japan93, 094704 (2024)
work page 2024
- [20]
-
[21]
R. Wang, B. Wang, R. Shen, L. Sheng, and D. Y. Xing, Floquet weyl semimetal induced by off-resonant light, EPL (Europhys. Lett.)105, 17004 (2014)
work page 2014
-
[22]
H. Hübener, M. A. Sentef, U. De Giovannini, A. F. Kem- per,andA.Rubio,Creatingstablefloquet–weylsemimet- als by laser-driving of 3d dirac materials, Nat. Commun. 8, 13940 (2017)
work page 2017
-
[23]
L. Bucciantini, S. Roy, S. Kitamura, and T. Oka, Emergent weyl nodes and fermi arcs in a floquet weyl semimetal, Phys. Rev. B96, 041126 (2017)
work page 2017
-
[24]
C.-K. Chan, Y.-T. Oh, J. H. Han, and P. A. Lee, Type-ii weyl cone transitions in driven semimetals, Phys. Rev. B 94, 121106 (2016)
work page 2016
-
[25]
T. Zhu, H. Ni, B. Wei, and H. Wang, Manipulating topo- logical states in multi-weyl semimetals by off-resonant light: Theoryandmaterialrealization,Phys.Rev.B110, 235160 (2024)
work page 2024
- [26]
-
[27]
S. Ebihara, K. Fukushima, and T. Oka, Chiral pumping effect induced by rotating electric fields, Phys. Rev. B 93, 155107 (2016)
work page 2016
-
[28]
N. Yoshikawa, S. Okumura, Y. Hirai, K. Ogawa, K. Fuji- wara, J. Ikeda, A. Ozawa, T. Koretsune, R. Arita, A. Mi- tra, and T. Oka, Light-induced anomalous hall conduc- tivity in the massive three-dimensional dirac semimetal co3sn2s2, Physical Review B111, 245104 (2025)
work page 2025
-
[29]
P. Li, W. Chen, J. Chen, W. Luo, and D. Zhao, Acoustic landau levels in a synthetic magnetic field with a sym- metric gauge, Phys. Rev. Appl.22, 014047 (2024)
work page 2024
-
[30]
K. Li, X. Zhang, Z. Zhang, Y. Cheng, and X. Liu, Obser- vation of chiral landau levels in a synthetic acoustic weyl semimetal, Communications Physics8, 133 (2025)
work page 2025
- [31]
-
[32]
I. Robredo, P. Rao, F. De Juan, A. Bergara, J. L. Mañes, A. Cortijo, M. G. Vergniory, and B. Bradlyn, Cubic hall viscosity in three-dimensional topological semimet- als, Phys. Rev. Res.3, L032068 (2021)
work page 2021
-
[33]
T. Morimoto, Y. Hatsugai, and H. Aoki, Optical hall conductivity in ordinary and graphene quantum hall sys- tems, Phys. Rev. Lett.103, 116803 (2009)
work page 2009
- [34]
-
[35]
R. Shimano, Y. Ikebe, K. S. Takahashi, M. Kawasaki, N. Nagaosa, and Y. Tokura, Terahertz faraday rotation induced by an anomalous hall effect in the itinerant ferro- magnet srruo3, EPL (Europhys. Lett.)95, 17002 (2011)
work page 2011
-
[36]
R. Shimano, G. Yumoto, J. Y. Yoo, R. Matsunaga, S. Tanabe, H. Hibino, T. Morimoto, and H. Aoki, Quan- tum faraday and kerr rotations in graphene, Nat. Com- mun.4, 1841 (2013)
work page 2013
-
[37]
Y. Okamura, S. Minami, Y. Kato, Y. Fujishiro, Y. Kaneko, J. Ikeda, J. Muramoto, R. Kaneko, K. Ueda, V. Kocsis, N. Kanazawa, Y. Taguchi, T. Koretsune, K. Fujiwara, A. Tsukazaki, R. Arita, Y. Tokura, and Y. Takahashi, Giant magneto-optical responses in mag- netic weyl semimetal co3sn2s2, Nat. Commun.11, 4619 (2020)
work page 2020
-
[38]
S. Jeon, B. B. Zhou, A. Gyenis, B. E. Feldman, I. Kimchi, A. C. Potter, Q. D. Gibson, R. J. Cava, A. Vishwanath, and A. Yazdani, Landau quantization and quasiparti- cle interference in the three-dimensional dirac semimetal cd3as2, Nat. Mater.13, 851 (2014)
work page 2014
-
[39]
P. E. C. Ashby and J. P. Carbotte, Magneto-optical conductivity of weyl semimetals, Physical Review B87, 245131 (2013)
work page 2013
-
[40]
M. Stålhammar, J. Larana-Aragon, J. Knolle, and E. J. Bergholtz, Magneto-optical conductivity in generic weyl semimetals, Phys. Rev. B102, 235134 (2020)
work page 2020
- [41]
-
[42]
P. Liu, C. Cui, X.-P. Li, Z.-M. Yu, and Y. Yao, Landau level spectrum and magneto-optical conductivity in tilted weyl semimetal, Physical Review B107, 085146 (2023)
work page 2023
-
[43]
G.BednikandV.Kozii,Magneticfieldinducesgiantnon- linear optical response in weyl semimetals, Physical Re- view B109, 045106 (2024)
work page 2024
- [44]
-
[45]
B.Bradlyn, J.Cano, Z.Wang, M.G.Vergniory, C.Felser, R. J. Cava, and B. A. Bernevig, Beyond dirac and weyl fermions: Unconventional quasiparticles in conventional crystals, Science353, 10.1126/science.aaf5037 (2016). 16
-
[46]
G. Floquet, Sur les équations différentielles linéaires à coefficients périodiques, Annales scientifiques de l’École Normale Supérieure 2e série,12, 47 (1883)
-
[47]
Sambe, Steady states and quasienergies of a quantum- mechanical system in an oscillating field, Phys
H. Sambe, Steady states and quasienergies of a quantum- mechanical system in an oscillating field, Phys. Rev. A 7, 2203 (1973)
work page 1973
-
[48]
M. Rodriguez-Vega, M. Vogl, and G. A. Fiete, Low- frequency and moiré–floquet engineering: A review, An- nals of Physics , 168434 (2021)
work page 2021
-
[49]
A. Eckardt and E. Anisimovas, High-frequency approx- imation for periodically driven quantum systems from a floquet-space perspective, New Journal of Physics17, 093039 (2015)
work page 2015
-
[50]
B. Xu, Z. Fang, M. Ángel Sánchez-Martínez, J. W. F. Venderbos, Z. Ni, T. Qiu, K. Manna, K. Wang, J. Paglione, C. Bernhard, C. Felser, E. J. Mele, A. G. Grushin, A. M. Rappe, and L. Wu, Optical signatures of multifold fermions in the chiral topological semimetal cosi, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117, 27104 (2020)
work page 2020
-
[51]
L. Z. Maulana, K. Manna, E. Uykur, C. Felser, M. Dres- sel, and A. V. Pronin, Optical conductivity of multifold fermions: The case of rhsi, Phys. Rev. Res.2, 023018 (2020)
work page 2020
-
[52]
T. Eriksson, L. Bergqvist, P. Nordblad, O. Eriksson, and Y. Andersson, Structural and magnetic characterization of mn3irge and mn3ir(si1−xgex): experiments and theory, Journal of Solid State Chemistry177, 4058 (2004)
work page 2004
-
[53]
T. Eriksson, R. Lizárraga, S. Felton, L. Bergqvist, Y. An- dersson, P. Nordblad, and O. Eriksson, Crystal and mag- netic structure ofmn 3IrSi, Phys. Rev. B69, 054422 (2004)
work page 2004
-
[54]
F. M. Dickey, ed.,Laser Beam Shaping: Theory and Techniques, 2nd ed. (CRC Press, Boca Raton, 2014)
work page 2014
-
[55]
Laskin, Solutions for beam shaping, Laser Technik Journal10, 37 (2013)
A. Laskin, Solutions for beam shaping, Laser Technik Journal10, 37 (2013)
work page 2013
- [56]
- [57]
-
[58]
J. D. Hannukainen, Y. Ferreiros, A. Cortijo, and J. H. Bardarson,Axialanomalygenerationbydomainwallmo- tion in weyl semimetals, Physical Review B102, 241401 (2020)
work page 2020
-
[59]
X. He, Y. Li, H. Zeng, Z. Zhu, S. Tan, Y. Zhang, C. Cao, and Y. Luo, Pressure-tuning domain-wall chi- rality in noncentrosymmetric magnetic weyl semimetal CeAlGe, Science China Physics, Mechanics & Astronomy 66, 237011 (2023)
work page 2023
-
[60]
K. Fujiwara, K. Ogawa, N. Yoshikawa, K. Kobayashi, K. Nomura, R. Shimano, and A. Tsukazaki, Giant an- tisymmetric magnetoresistance arising across optically controlled domain walls in the magnetic weyl semimetal co3sn2s2, Communications Materials5, 239 (2024)
work page 2024
- [61]
-
[62]
A. Raj, S. Chaudhary, and G. A. Fiete, Photogalvanic response in multi-weyl semimetals, Phys. Rev. Res.6, 013048 (2024)
work page 2024
discussion (0)
Sign in with ORCID, Apple, or X to comment. Anyone can read and Pith papers without signing in.