Signature of topological phases in Zitterbewegung

Sumit Ghosh, Aurelien Manchon

Published 2016-05-07Version 1

We have studied the Zitterbewegung effect on an infinite two dimensional sheet with honeycomb lattice. By tuning the perpendicular electric field and the magnetization of the sheet, it can enter different topological phases. We have shown that the longitudinal component of Zitterbewegung is quite sensitive to these phases and can be used to detect them. Our findings are applicable to materials like silicene, germanene, stanene etc.