Geometry, anomaly, topology, and transport in Weyl fermions

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent advances in understanding the geometric, topological, and transport properties of Weyl semimetals, emphasizing phenomena like chiral anomaly and effects of strain and magnetic fields on electron transport.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive synthesis of theoretical, experimental, and numerical studies on Weyl fermion transport, highlighting new insights into anomaly-induced effects and extended transport theories.

Findings

Chiral anomaly significantly influences magnetotransport in WSMs.

Strain and magnetic fields induce gauge fields affecting electron dynamics.

Extended Maxwell-Boltzmann theory improves transport property predictions.

Abstract

Weyl fermions are one of the simplest objects that link ideas in geometry and topology to highenergy physics and condensed matter physics. Although the existence of Weyl fermions as elementary particles remains dubious, there is mounting evidence of their existence as quasiparticles in certain condensed matter systems. Such systems are termed Weyl semimetals (WSMs). Needless to say, WSMs have emerged as a fascinating class of materials with unique electronic properties, offering a rich playground for both fundamental research and potential technological applications. This review examines recent advancements in understanding electron transport in Weyl semimetals (WSMs). We begin with a pedagogical introduction to the geometric and topological concepts critical to understanding quantum transport in Weyl fermions. We then explore chiral anomaly (CA), a defining feature of WSMs, and its impact on transport phenomena such as longitudinal magnetoconductance (LMC) and the planar Hall effect (PHE). The Maxwell-Boltzmann transport theory extended beyond the standard relaxation-time approximation is then discussed in the context of Weyl fermions, which is used to evaluate various transport properties. Attention is also given to the effects of strain-induced gauge fields and external magnetic fields in both time-reversal broken and inversion asymmetric inhomogeneous WSMs. The review synthesizes theoretical insights, experimental observations, and numerical simulations to provide a comprehensive understanding of the complex transport behaviors in WSMs, aiming to bridge the gap between theoretical predictions and experimental verification.