Higher Rank Chiral Fermions in 3D Weyl Semimetals

ORAL

Abstract

We report on exotic response properties in 3D time-reversal invariant Weyl semimetals with mirror symmetry. Despite having a vanishing anomalous Hall coefficient, we find that the momentum-space quadrupole moment formed by four Weyl nodes determines the coefficient of a mixed electromagnetic charge-stress response, in which momentum flows perpendicular to an applied electric field, and electric charge accumulates on certain types of lattice defects. This response is described by a mixed Chern-Simons-like term in 3 spatial dimensions, which couples a rank-2 gauge field to the usual electromagnetic gauge field. On certain 2D surfaces of the bulk 3D Weyl semimetal, we find what we will call rank-2 chiral fermions, with ω = kxky dispersion. The intrinsically 2D rank-2 chiral fermions have a mixed charge-momentum anomaly which is cancelled by the bulk of the 3D system.

*O.D. and T.L.H. thank ARO MURI W911NF2020166 for support. F. J. B. is grateful for the financial support of NSF DMR 1928166, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and the Institute for Advanced Study.

Presenters

  • Oleg Dubinkin

    • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
    • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champai

Authors

  • Oleg Dubinkin

    • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
    • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champai
  • Taylor L Hughes

    • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
    • Department of Physics and Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
  • Fiona J Burnell

    • University of Minnesota
    • University of Minnesota Twin Cities