Scattering theory of the chiral magnetic effect in a Weyl semimetal: Interplay of bulk Weyl cones and surface Fermi arcs

2015/12/31 by P. Baireuther, J. A. Hutasoit, J. Tworzydło +1 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #cond-mat.mes-hall

paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/1367-2630/18/4/045009

published as New J. Phys. 18, 045009 (2016) · 8 pages, 8 figures; V2: added references with discussion; V3: To be published in the Focus Issue on "Topological semimetals" of New Journal of Physics

arxiv created 2016/03/30 · arxiv updated 2016/04/15

Abstract

We formulate a linear response theory of the chiral magnetic effect in a finite Weyl semimetal, expressing the electrical current density j induced by a slowly oscillating magnetic field B or chiral chemical potential μ in terms of the scattering matrix of Weyl fermions at the Fermi level. Surface conduction can be neglected in the infinite-system limit for δj/δμ, but not for δj/δB: The chirally circulating surface Fermi arcs give a comparable contribution to the bulk Weyl cones no matter how large the system is, because their smaller number is compensated by an increased flux sensitivity. The Fermi arc contribution to μ^-1δj/δB has the universal value (e/h)², protected by chirality against impurity scattering --- unlike the bulk contribution of opposite sign.

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