Electron transport in nodal-line semimetals

TL;DR

This paper investigates how electron transport in nodal-line semimetals is affected by unique Coulomb screening, revealing diverse conduction behaviors, diverging mobility at low doping, and anisotropic weak localization effects.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of Coulomb screening and transport regimes in nodal-line semimetals, highlighting their distinct conductivity and mobility characteristics.

Findings

Screened Coulomb potential decays as 1/r^2

Mobility diverges as 1/|μ| at zero chemical potential

Conductivity increases linearly with temperature

Abstract

We study the electrical conductivity in a nodal-line semimetal with charged impurities. The screening of the Coulomb potential in this system is qualitatively different from what is found in conventional metals or semiconductors, with the screened potential $\phi$ decaying as $\phi \propto 1/r^2$ over a wide interval of distances $r$. This unusual screening gives rise to a rich variety of conduction regimes as a function of temperature, doping level and impurity concentration. In particular, nodal-line semimetals exhibit a diverging mobility $\propto 1/|\mu|$ in the limit of vanishing chemical potential $\mu$, a linearly-increasing dependence of the conductivity on temperature, $\sigma \propto T$, and a large weak-localization correction with a strongly anisotropic dependence on magnetic field.