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Chirality-Dependent Hall Effect in Weyl Semimetals.
Shengyuan A Yang1, Hui Pan2, Fan Zhang3
1Research Laboratory for Quantum Materials, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore 487372, Singapore.
Physical Review Letters
|November 10, 2015
Summary
We found universal transverse wave-packet shifts in Weyl semimetals due to angular momentum conservation. These anomalous shifts depend on electron chirality and can be controlled by breaking inversion symmetry.
Area of Science:
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Materials Science
- Quantum Mechanics
Background:
- Weyl semimetals exhibit unique electronic properties due to their band structure.
- Understanding charge transport in these materials is crucial for novel electronic devices.
- Berry curvature plays a significant role in the anomalous transport phenomena.
Purpose of the Study:
- To generalize semiclassical theory for ballistic transport in Weyl semimetals.
- To investigate the role of phase-space Berry curvatures in electron transport.
- To predict and analyze anomalous transverse shifts of wave packets.
Main Methods:
- Generalization of semiclassical theory.
- Application of angular momentum conservation principles.
- Analysis of phase-space Berry curvatures in Weyl semimetals.
Main Results:
- Prediction of universal transverse wave-packet shifts in transmission and reflection.
- Demonstration that shifts are perpendicular to adiabatic changes in Fermi energy or velocities.
- Observation of opposite shifts for electrons with different chirality.
- Imbalance of shifts achievable by breaking inversion symmetry.
Conclusions:
- The study provides a theoretical framework for understanding chirality-dependent transport in Weyl semimetals.
- Anomalous transverse shifts offer a potential mechanism for a chirality-dependent Hall effect.
- Proposed methods (gates, strain, light) for generating and probing this effect.
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