Mixed axial-torsional anomaly in Weyl semimetals
Abstract
We show that Weyl semimetals exhibit a mixed axial-torsional anomaly in the presence of axial torsion, a concept exclusive of these materials with no known natural fundamental interpretation in terms of the geometry of spacetime. This anomaly implies a nonconservation of the axial current---the difference in current of left- and right-handed chiral fermions---when the torsion of the spacetime in which the Weyl fermions move couples with opposite sign to different chiralities. The anomaly is activated by driving transverse sound waves through a Weyl semimetal with a spatially varying tilted dispersion, which can be engineered by applying strain. This leads to sizable alternating current in presence of a magnetic field that provides a clear-cut experimental signature of our predictions.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1808.08241,
title = {Mixed axial-torsional anomaly in Weyl semimetals},
author = {Yago Ferreiros and Yaron Kedem and Emil J. Bergholtz and Jens H. Bardarson},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1808.08241},
year = {2019}
}