Chiral orbital texture in nonlinear electrical conduction

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery of a chiral orbital texture in the nonlinear electrical conduction of chiral semiconductor Te, demonstrating how nonlinear transport measurements can probe orbital effects distinct from spin phenomena.

Contribution

It identifies the enantiospecific nonlinear conductance and links it to a chiral orbital magnetic moment distribution, advancing understanding of orbital textures in electron transport.

Findings

Enantiospecific sign of nonlinear conductance determined

Anomalies in carrier-density dependence observed

Chiral orbital texture confirmed as the underlying cause

Abstract

Nonlinear electrical conduction primarily mediated by an orbital texture is observed in chiral semiconductor Te. We determine the enantiospecific sign of the nonlinear conductance and identify anomalies in its carrier-density dependence. Our findings, combined with the Boltzmann equation, are attributed to a chiral orbital texture, namely a chiral distribution of the orbital magnetic moment in reciprocal space. This study underscores the efficacy of nonlinear transport measurements in probing orbital-related effects, whose differentiation from spin counterparts is often demanding in the linear response regime of electron transport.