Lattice-dependent spin Hall effect of light in a Weyl semimetal.

Abstract

We systematically study the lattice-dependent spin Hall effect of light (SHEL) in a Weyl semimetal (WSM) by considering left-handed polarization of the incident beam, and propose a new simple method to sense the lattice spacing precisely. It is revealed that the lattice spacing plays as essential a role as the Weyl points separation in the influences on the SHEL, and the variations of SHEL shifts are closely related to the real part of Hall conductivity. Specifically, the SHEL shifts increase to the peak values first and then decrease gradually with the increase of lattice spacing, and a quantitative relationship between the SHEL and the lattice spacing is established. By simulating weak measurement experiments, the lattice-dependent SHEL shifts are amplified and measured in desirable accuracies. Subsequently, we propose a method of precisely sensing the lattice spacing based on the amplified SHEL shifts. These researches provide theoretical basis for manipulating the SHEL in WSMs, and may open the possibility of fabricating the WSM parameter sensors.