We investigate the topological properties of Floquet-engineered twisted bilayer graphene above the magic angle driven by circularly polarized laser pulses. Employing a full Moiré-unit-cell tightbinding Hamiltonian based on first-principles electronic structure we show that the band topology in the bilayer, at twisting angles above 1.05 • , essentially corresponds to the one of single-layer graphene. However, the ability to open topologically trivial gaps in this system by a bias voltage between the layers enables the full topological phase diagram to be explored, which is not possible in singlelayer graphene. Circularly polarized light induces a transition to a topologically nontrivial Floquet band structure with the Berry curvature of a Chern insulator. Importantly, the twisting allows for tuning electronic energy scales, which implies that the electronic bandwidth can be tailored to match realistic driving frequencies in the ultraviolet or mid-infrared photon-energy regimes. This implies that Moiré superlattices are an ideal playground for combining twistronics, Floquet engineering, and strongly interacting regimes out of thermal equilibrium.
PACS 72.10.Bg -General formulation of transport theory PACS 73.23.-b -Electronic transport in mesoscopic systems PACS 44.05.+e -analytical and numerical techniques in Heat Transfer PACS 05.30.Jp -Boson systems PACS 05.30.Fk -Fermion systems (quantum statistical mechanics)Abstract -We investigate the thermodynamics of simple (non-interacting) transport models beyond the scope of weak coupling. For a single fermionic or bosonic level -tunnel-coupled to two reservoirs -exact expressions for the stationary matter and energy current are derived from the solutions of the Heisenberg equations of motion. The positivity of the steady-state entropy production rate is demonstrated explicitly. Finally, for a configuration in which particles are pumped upwards in chemical potential by a downward temperature gradient, we demonstrate that the thermodynamic efficiency of this process decreases when the coupling strength between system and reservoirs is increased, as a direct consequence of the loss of a tight coupling between energy and matter currents.
Nonequilibrium many-body dynamics is becoming a central topic in condensed matter physics. Floquet topological states were suggested to emerge in photodressed bands under periodic laser driving. Here we propose a viable nonequilibrium route without requiring coherent Floquet states to reach the elusive magnetic Weyl semimetallic phase in pyrochlore iridates by ultrafast modification of the effective electron-electron interaction with short laser pulses. Combining ab initio calculations for a time-dependent self-consistent light-reduced Hubbard U and nonequilibrium magnetism simulations for quantum quenches, we find dynamically modified magnetic order giving rise to transiently emerging Weyl cones that can be probed by time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. Our work offers a unique and realistic pathway for nonequilibrium materials engineering beyond Floquet physics to create and sustain Weyl semimetals. This may lead to ultrafast, tens-of-femtoseconds switching protocols for light-engineered Berry curvature in combination with ultrafast magnetism.
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