Valley Hall effect induced by pseudomagnetic field in distorted photonic graphene

Like the spin in spintronics, the valley index in graphene can be viewed as a new carrier of information, which is useful for designing modern electronic devices. Recently, we have applied the concept of valleytronics to photonic graphene, revealed valley-dependent beam splitting effect and realized pseudomagnetic field. The pseudomagnetic field enables a novel manipulation of photons. In this paper, the photonic analogy of valley Hall effect in uniaxially distorted photonic graphene is investigated. It is found that photons in two valleys are subjected to pseudomagnetic fields that are equal in strength but opposite in sign. With the increasing of distortion, the valley Hall effect becomes stronger. In addition, it is found that the photonic valley Hall effect can still be maintained under the influence of loss, although the beam intensity decreases. The photonic analogy of valley Hall effect induced by pseudomagnetic field in uniaxially distorted photonic graphene may be very useful for controlling the flow of light in future valley-polarized devices.