Interaction of electromagnetic radiation with samarium hexaboride surface

We propose a time-dependent, surface Hamiltonian for samarium hexaboride based on the slave boson protocol-linked version of the periodic Anderson model Hamiltonian reported earlier. Utilizing the Floquet theory, we demonstrate that access to the quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) state is feasible due to the incidence of circularly polarized radiation (CPR) on the system surface. The underlying reasons are the emergence of a pseudo-magnetic field breaking time-reversal symmetry and the existence of a bandgap, between the bands closer to the Fermi energy, in the single-particle excitation spectrum of the irradiated surface. The gap appears when the dimensionless intensity (I) of CPR exceeds a threshold value (I > 1). Conversely, for lower intensity, the surface state is found to be conducting, manifesting the unique metal-to-QAH insulator transition of the system in the quasi-two-dimensional limit.