Abstract
The acoustogalvanic effect is proposed as a nonlinear mechanism to generate a direct electric current by passing acoustic waves in Dirac and Weyl semimetals. Unlike the standard acoustoelectric effect, which relies on the sound-induced deformation potential and the corresponding electric field, the acoustogalvanic one originates from the pseudoelectromagnetic fields, which are not subject to screening. The longitudinal acoustogalvanic current scales at least quadratically with the relaxation time, which is in contrast to the photogalvanic current where the scaling is linear. Because of the interplay of pseudoelectric and pseudomagnetic fields, the current could show a nontrivial dependence on the direction of sound wave propagation. Being within the experimental reach, the effect can be utilized to probe dynamical deformations and corresponding pseudoelectromagnetic fields, which are yet to be experimentally observed in Weyl and Dirac semimetals.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 126602 |
| Journal | Physical Review Letters |
| Volume | 124 |
| Issue number | 12 |
| Early online date | 26 Mar 2020 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 26 Mar 2020 |
Funding
We are grateful to A. V. Balatsky for useful discussions. P. O. S. thanks E. V. Gorbar for critical comments. We acknowledge the support from the VILLUM FONDEN via the Centre of Excellence for Dirac Materials (Grant No. 11744), the European Research Council under the European Unions Seventh Framework ERS-2018-SYG 810451 HERO, and the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation KAW 2018.0104. H. R. acknowledges support from the Swedish Research Council (VR 2018-04252).
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| European Unions Seventh Framework | ERS-2018-SYG 810451 |
| Villum Fonden | 11744 |
| Horizon 2020 Framework Programme | 810451 |
| European Research Council | |
| Knut och Alice Wallenbergs Stiftelse | KAW 2018.0104 |
| Vetenskapsrådet | VR 2018-04252 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Physics and Astronomy