  Under symmetry breaking, a three-dimensional nodal-line semimetal can turn
into a topological insulator or Weyl semimetal, accompanied by the generation
of momentum-space Berry curvature. We develop a theory that unifies their
circular dichroism and highlights the roles of Berry curvature distribution and
light incident direction. Nontrivially, these phases exhibit distinct dichroic
optical absorption and radial Hall effects, with characteristic scalings with
photon energy and electric field. Our findings offer a new diagnosis tool for
examining topological phases of matter.
