Vorticity of viscous electronic flow in graphene

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that viscous electronic flow in graphene exhibits vortex structures and sign-alternating nonlocal resistance, providing a potential definitive experimental signature of hydrodynamic behavior in electrons.

Contribution

It shows that hydrodynamic electron flow in graphene can produce observable vortex patterns and resistance signatures, advancing direct detection methods.

Findings

Vortex structures observed in electronic flow

Sign-alternating nonlocal resistance detected

Hydrodynamic behavior confirmed in graphene

Abstract

In ultra-pure materials electrons may exhibit a collective motion similar to the hydrodynamic flow of a viscous fluid, the phenomenon with far reaching consequences in a wide range of many body systems from black holes to high-temperature superconductivity. Yet the definitive detection of this intriguing behavior remains elusive. Until recently, experimental techniques for observing hydrodynamic behavior in solids were based on measuring macroscopic transport properties, such as the "nonlocal" (or "vicinity") resistance, which may allow alternative interpretation. Earlier this year two breakthrough experiments demonstrated two distinct imaging techniques making it possible to "observe" the electronic flow directly. We demonstrate that a hydrodynamic flow in a long Hall bar (in the absence of magnetic field) exhibits a nontrivial vortex structure accompanied by a sign-alternating nonlocal resistance. An experimental observation of such unique flow pattern could serve a definitive proof of electronic hydrodynamics.