Observation of light-induced Haldane gap in graphene
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Fei Wang, Xuanxi Cai, Wanying Chen, Xiao Tang, Jinze Li, Benshu Fan et al. · arXiv: 2610.42115v1 · Summary page
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Light opens a topological gap in graphene
Circularly polarized light has long been predicted to change graphene’s electronic structure by dynamically breaking time-reversal symmetry. A new preprint reports direct observation of the resulting gap at the Dirac point using time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. The gap appears with the optical field and only under circularly polarized driving, linking the spectroscopic change to the symmetry of the illumination.
Together with Floquet theory, the measurements identify the gap with a light-induced Haldane mass; the theoretical analysis also reveals the associated Berry curvature and Chern topology. The distinction matters: the experiment directly observes the gap, while theory supplies the fuller topological interpretation. The result supports a route to manipulating electronic states through an applied light field rather than changing a material’s composition or relying on equilibrium magnetism.
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