Nonequilibrium topological spin textures in momentum space

Nonequilibrium quantum dynamics of many-body systems is the frontier of condensed matter physics; recent advances in various time-resolved spectroscopic techniques continue to reveal rich phenomena. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) as one powerful technique can resolve electronic energy, momentum, and spin along the time axis after excitation. However, dynamics of spin textures in momentum space remains mostly unexplored. Here, we demonstrate theoretically that the photoexcited surface state of genuine or magnetically doped topological insulators shows intriguing topological spin textures (i.e., tornado-like patterns) in the spin-resolved ARPES. We systematically reveal its origin as a unique nonequilibrium photoinduced topological winding phenomenon. As all intrinsic and extrinsic topological helicity factors of both material and light are embedded in a robust and delicate manner, the tornado patterns not only allow a remarkable tomography of such important system information, but also enable various unique dichroic topological switchings of the momentum-space spin texture. These results open a direction of nonequilibrium topological spin states in quantum materials.

Automated summary

The nonequilibrium quantum dynamics of many-body systems is a cutting-edge field in condensed matter physics, and recent advancements in time-resolved spectroscopic techniques have revealed diverse phenomena. This study theoretically demonstrates that photoexcited surface states of genuine or magnetically doped topological insulators exhibit intriguing topological spin textures, resembling tornado-like patterns, in spin-resolved angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). The origin of these patterns is revealed as a unique nonequilibrium photoinduced topological winding phenomenon. These findings not only provide significant tomography of important system information but also enable unique dichroic topological switchings of momentum-space spin textures.