[Submitted on 7 Feb 2025] (cross-list from cond-mat.mes-hall)
Observation of a dynamic magneto-chiral instability in photoexcited tellurium
Yijing Huang · Nick Abboud · Yinchuan Lv · Penghao Zhu · Azel Murzabekova · Changjun Lee · Emma A. Pappas · Dominic Petruzzi · Jason Y. Yan · Dipanjan Chauduri · Peter Abbamonte · Daniel P. Shoemaker and 3 other authors
In a system of charged chiral fermions driven out of equilibrium, an electric current parallel to the magnetic field can generate a dynamic instability by which electromagnetic waves become amplified. Whether a similar instability can occur in chiral solid-state systems remains an open question. Using time-domain terahertz (THz) emission spectroscopy, we detect signatures of what we dub a ``dynamic magneto-chiral instability" in elemental tellurium, a structurally chiral crystal. Upon transient photoexcitation in a moderate external magnetic field, tellurium emits THz radiation consisting of coherent modes that amplify over time. An explanation for this amplification is proposed using a theoretical model based on a dynamic instability of electromagnetic waves interacting with infrared-active oscillators of impurity acceptor states in tellurium to form an amplifying polariton. Our work not only uncovers the presence of a magneto-chiral instability but also highlights its promise for THz-wave amplification in chiral materials.
- Comments:
- Supplementary Information (SI) available as a PDF in the TeX source
- Subjects:
- Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall); cond-mat.dis-nn (cond-mat.dis-nn); Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech); High Energy Physics — Phenomenology (hep-ph); Nuclear Theory (nucl-th)
- arXiv:
- 2502.05170 [pdf]