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

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 $\mu$ in terms of the scattering matrix of Weyl fermions at the Fermi level. Surface conduction can be neglected in the infinite-system limit for $\delta j/\delta \mu$, but not for $\delta j/\delta B$: 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 ${\mu }^{-1}\delta j/\delta B$ has the universal value $(e/h{)}^2$, protected by chirality against impurity scattering --- unlike the bulk contribution of opposite sign.

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

References in corpus (7)

• The Chiral Magnetic Effect
• Topological response in Weyl semimetals and the chiral anomaly
• Gravitational Anomaly and Transport
• Chiral Magnetic conductivity
• Chiral magnetic effect in two-band lattice model of Weyl semimetal
• Observation of the Adler-Bell-Jackiw chiral anomaly in a Weyl semimetal
• Chiral Magnetic Effect in finite-size samples of parity-breaking Weyl semimetals

Cited by in corpus (39)

• Dielectric response and novel electromagnetic modes in three-dimensional Dirac semimetal films
• Weyl Metals
• Antichiral edge states in a modified Haldane nanoribbon
• Giant tunable nonreciprocity of light in Weyl semimetals
• Transport in two-dimensional topological materials: recent developments in experiment and theory
• Inhomogeneous Weyl and Dirac semimetals: Transport in axial magnetic fields and Fermi arc surface states from pseudo Landau levels
• Strain induced Chiral Magnetic Effect in Weyl semimetals
• Visualizing "Fermi arcs" in the Weyl semimetal TaAs
• Topological Semimetal Nanostructures: From Properties to Topotronics
• Topological responses from chiral anomaly in multi-Weyl semimetals
• Topological Lifshitz Transitions and Fermi Arc Manipulation in Weyl Semimetal NbAs
• Ideal Weyl semimetal with 3D spin-orbit coupled ultracold quantum gas
• Quasiparticle Interference Studies of Quantum Materials
• Four-dimensional semimetals with tensor monopoles: From surface states to topological responses
• $0$-$\pi$ transitions in a Josephson junction of irradiated Weyl semimetal
• Transport, refraction and interface arcs in junctions of Weyl semimetals
• Superconductivity provides access to the chiral magnetic effect of an unpaired Weyl cone
• Weyl-Majorana solenoid
• Quantized Fermi-arc-mediated transport in Weyl semimetal nanowires
• Phonon-limited Transport and Fermi Arc Lifetime in Weyl Semimetals
• Magnetotransport in Weyl semimetal nanowires
• Floquet and Anomalous Floquet Weyl Semimetals
• Fermi arcs and DC transport in nanowires of Dirac and Weyl semimetals
• Transport through Andreev bound states in a Weyl semimetal quantum dot
• Chiral magnetic effect without chirality source in asymmetric Weyl semimetals
• Two-particle collisional coordinate shifts and hydrodynamic anomalous Hall effect in systems without Lorentz invariance
• Phonon-induced magnetoresistivity of Weyl semimetal nanowires
• Localization effects on magnetotransport of a disordered Weyl semimetal
• Multi-terminal Conductance at the Surface of a Weyl Semimetal
• Field theory approach to the quantum transport in Weyl semimetals
• Universal chiral magnetic effect in the vortex lattice of a Weyl superconductor
• Magnetic Switching in Weyl Semimetal-Superconductor Heterostructures
• Parabolic Hall Effect due to Co-Propagating Surface Modes
• Fabry-Perot interferometry in Weyl semi-metals
• Spontaneous charge current in a doped Weyl semimetal
• Scaling of the chiral magnetic effect in quantum diffusive Weyl semimetals
• Regularized continuum model of a Weyl semimetal for describing anomalous electromagnetic response
• Impurities in 3D quadratic band-touching Luttinger semimetals : Friedel and RKKY oscillations
• Manifestation of chiral magnetic current in Floquet-Weyl semimetals