Topological Phase Transitions in the Photonic Spin Hall Effect

The recent synthesis of two-dimensional staggered materials opens up burgeoning opportunities to study optical spin-orbit interactions in semiconducting Dirac-like systems. We take advantage of the crossroads between topology, phase transitions, spin-orbit interactions, and Dirac physics in the graphene family materials to unveil topological phase transitions in the photonic spin Hall effect. It is shown that an external static electric field and a high frequency circularly polarized laser allow for active on-demand manipulation of electromagnetic beam shifts. The spin Hall effect of light presents a rich dependence with radiation degrees of freedom, and material properties, and features nontrivial topological properties. We discover that photonic Hall shifts are sensitive to spin and valley properties of the charge carriers, providing an unprecedented pathway to investigate emergent spintronics and valleytronics in the graphene family.

[1] W. J. M. Kort-Kamp, "Topological phase transitions in the photonic spin Hall effect", Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 147401 (2017).