Comparing the influence of Floquet dynamics in various Kitaev-Heisenberg materials

Abstract

In this paper we examine the possibility of Floquet engineering in the three candidate Kitaev materials $\mathrm{Na}_2\mathrm{IrO}_3$, $\alpha$-$\mathrm{Li}_2\mathrm{IrO}_3$ and $\alpha$-$\mathrm{RuCl}_3$. We derive an effective Floquet Hamiltonian and give an approximation for heating processes arising from doublon holon propagation.This suggests that compounds with stronger Hund's-rule coupling are less prone to heating. We then investigate the impact of light frequency and amplitude on magnetic interaction terms up to third-nearest-neighbor and find that third-neighbor Heisenberg coupling $J_3$ is very susceptible to tuning by circularly polarized light. Finally, we discuss uses of linear polarized light in selectively tuning single bond directions.