Electronic transport in torsional strained Weyl semimetals

TL;DR

This paper investigates how torsional strain and magnetic fields influence electronic transport in Weyl semimetals, extending previous graphene studies to 3D materials with analytical results and experimental proposals.

Contribution

It extends the analysis of strain and magnetic effects from graphene to Weyl semimetals, providing exact solutions and a method to measure torsion angles.

Findings

Analytical expressions for scattering cross section and transmitted current.

Node-polarization effect on electronic current.

Proposal to measure torsion angle via transmission experiments.

Abstract

In a recent paper (JPCM 29, 445302 (2017)) we have studied the effects of mechanical strain and magnetic field on the electronic transport properties in graphene. In this article we extended our work to Weyl semimetals (WSM). We show that although the WSM are 3D materials, most of the analysis done for graphene (2D material) can be carried out. In concrete, we studied the an electronic transport through a cylindrical region submitted to torsional strain and external magnetic field. We provide exact analytical expressions for the scattering cross section and the transmitted electronic current. In addition, we show the node-polarization effect on the current and propose a recipe to measure the torsion angle from transmission experiments.