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Optical rotation in thin chiral/twisted materials and the gyrotropic magnetic effect

ORAL

Abstract

The rotation of the plane of polarization of light passing through a non-magnetic material is known as natural optical activity or optical gyrotropy. The behavior of this effect in thin conductors is of current interest. For example, the low frequency limit of gyrotropy in chiral 3D crystals, known as the gyrotropic magnetic effect (GME), is controlled by the orbital magnetic moment of electrons, which has been proposed to be relevant to switching in twisted bilayer graphene. We show that the GME is not limited to bulk materials but also appears for quasi-2d systems with minimal structure incorporated in the third direction. Starting from multi-band Kubo formula, we derive a generic expression for GME current in quasi-2d materials induced by low-frequency light, and provide a Feynman diagrammatic interpretation. The relations between the 2d finite layered formula and 3d bulk formula are also discussed.

Presenters

  • Yanqi Wang

    University of California, Berkeley

Authors

  • Yanqi Wang

    University of California, Berkeley

  • Takahiro Morimoto

    Applied Physics, The University of Tokyo, Applied Physics, University of Tokyo, University of Tokyo, Univ of Tokyo, Applied physics department, University of Tokyo, The University of Tokyo

  • Joel Moore

    Physics, University of California, Berkeley, University of California, Berkeley