Revisiting the Acousto-Electric Effect

TL;DR

This paper offers a new theoretical perspective on the acousto-electric effect by deriving a wave equation that incorporates phonon-electron interactions, linking it to phenomena like superradiance and the Zel'dovich effect.

Contribution

It introduces a novel wave equation for the acoustic field that models phonon-electron interactions as loss or gain, connecting the acousto-electric effect to other physical phenomena.

Findings

Derived a wave equation similar to Stokes' viscous wave equation.

Identified phonon-electron interactions as a source of loss/gain.

Connected the acousto-electric effect to superradiance and Zel'dovich effect.

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to provide a new perspective on the acousto-electric effect by deriving a wave equation for the acoustic field that is akin to Stokes 1845 viscous wave equation and in which the phonon-electron interaction provides the loss/gain term. We hope this new perspective may provide some insight into the workings of the acousto-electric effect, and we use it to build connections to other areas of research, in particular inertial motion superradiance and the Zel'dovich effect.