Topological constraint on crystalline current

TL;DR

This paper derives a non-perturbative formula for the current in topological electron crystals under magnetic fields, revealing a topological contribution from the many-body Chern number and its implications for phonon modes.

Contribution

It introduces a precise, non-perturbative definition of crystalline current in topological electron crystals, linking it to the many-body Chern number and phonon dispersion.

Findings

Sliding crystals with zero current occur when electron density equals Chern number times magnetic flux.

The crystalline current influences the Lorentz force and phonon dispersion in electron crystals.

A counting rule for gapless phonons is established based on the current carried by the crystal.

Abstract

How much current does a sliding electron crystal carry? The answer to this simple question has important implications for the dynamic properties of the crystal, such as the frequency of its cyclotron motion, and its phonon spectrum. In this work we introduce a precise definition of a sliding crystal and compute the corresponding current $\mathbf{j}_c$ for topological electron crystals in the presence of magnetic field. Our result is fully non-perturbative, does not rely on Galilean invariance, and applies equally to Wigner crystals and (anomalous) Hall crystals. In terms of the electron density $\rho$ and magnetic flux density $\phi$, we find that $\mathbf{j}_c = e(\rho-C\phi)\mathbf{v}$. Surprisingly, the current receives a contribution from the many-body Chern number $C$ of the crystal. When $\rho = C\phi$, sliding crystals therefore carry zero current. The crystalline current fixes the Lorentz force felt by the sliding crystal and the dispersion of low-energy phonons of such crystals. This gives us a simple counting rule for the number of gapless phonons: if a sliding crystal carries nonzero current in a magnetic field, there is a single gapless mode, while otherwise there are two gapless modes. This result can also be understood from anomaly-matching of emanant discrete translation symmetries -- an idea that is also applicable to the dispersion of skyrmion crystals. Our results lead to novel experimental implications and invite further conceptual developments for electron crystals.