Two-dimensional electron gas in the regime of strong light-matter coupling: Dynamical conductivity and all-optical measurements of Rashba and Dresselhaus coupling

Abstract

A nonperturbative interaction of an electronic system with a laser field can substantially modify its physical properties. In particular, in two-dimensional (2D) materials with a lack of inversion symmetry, the achievement of a regime of strong light-matter coupling allows direct optical tuning of the strength of the Rashba spin-orbit interaction (SOI). Capitalizing on these results, we build a theory of the dynamical conductivity of a 2D electron gas with both Rashba and Dresselhaus SOIs coupled to an off-resonant high-frequency electromagnetic wave. We argue that strong light-matter coupling modifies qualitatively the dispersion of the electrons and can be used as a powerful tool to probe and manipulate the coupling strengths and adjust the frequency range where optical conductivity is essentially nonzero.