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Nonlinear Hall effect as a potential response for polarity detection in polar metals

ORAL

Abstract

An experimental determination of electric polarization has remained challenging in metals and semimetals, although current experimental techniques allow us to easily detect and switch the ferroelectric polarization in insulators. In this work, we theoretically propose that nonlinear Hall current can serve as a potential response to detect the electric polarization in polar nonmagnetic metals/semimetals. We particularly focus on the polar metal LiOsO$_3$ and type-II Weyl semimetals T$_d$-MoTe$_2$ and T$_d$-WTe$_2$, and calculate the Berry curvature dipole moment (BCDM) tensor, a quantity first proposed by Sodemann and Fu [1], in the aforementioned systems. Our calculations indicate that the studied systems exhibit a non-vanishing BCDM indicating possible realization of nonlinear Hall current generated as the second order Hall response by an external electric field oscillating at low-frequencies $\mathcal{O}$(10-100 Hz) [2]. We further show that the polarity reversal is always accompanied by the reversal of BCDM and consequently, the reversal of the nonlinear Hall current, which can be experimentally detected [3]. Refs. [1] I. Sodemann and L. Fu, Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 216806 (2015). [2] Ma et al., Nature 565, 337-342 (2019). [3] Singh et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 046402 (2020).

Authors

  • Sobhit Singh

    Rutgers University, NJ

  • Anuradha Gupta

    New Jersey Inst of Tech, Pennsylvania State University, Bard College, University of Mississippi, Drexel Univ, Collaborator, University of Dayton, Morgan State University, Louisiana State University, University of Geneva, Instituto Superior Tecnico - Lisboa, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Rutgers University, Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, Rutgers University, Pennsylvania State University, and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Chemical Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University-New Brunswick, Department of Physics, Rutgers University, Max-Planck-Institut für Festkörperforschung, Heisenbergstrasse 1, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany, Department of Physics and Fribourg Center for Nanomaterials, University of Fribourg, Chemin du Musée 3, CH-1700 Fribourg, Switzerland, The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, 1010 Auckland, New Zealand, Department of Physics, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795, USA, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ, USA, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA, Space Research Institute of RAS, Moscow, Russia, Georgetown University, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, University of Delaware, Brookhaven National Laboratory, San Diego State University, University of Chicago, University of Illinois at Chicago, Argonne National Laboratory, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA, University of Washington

  • Anuradha Gupta

    New Jersey Inst of Tech, Pennsylvania State University, Bard College, University of Mississippi, Drexel Univ, Collaborator, University of Dayton, Morgan State University, Louisiana State University, University of Geneva, Instituto Superior Tecnico - Lisboa, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Rutgers University, Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, Rutgers University, Pennsylvania State University, and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Chemical Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University-New Brunswick, Department of Physics, Rutgers University, Max-Planck-Institut für Festkörperforschung, Heisenbergstrasse 1, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany, Department of Physics and Fribourg Center for Nanomaterials, University of Fribourg, Chemin du Musée 3, CH-1700 Fribourg, Switzerland, The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, 1010 Auckland, New Zealand, Department of Physics, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795, USA, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ, USA, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA, Space Research Institute of RAS, Moscow, Russia, Georgetown University, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, University of Delaware, Brookhaven National Laboratory, San Diego State University, University of Chicago, University of Illinois at Chicago, Argonne National Laboratory, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA, University of Washington

  • Anuradha Gupta

    New Jersey Inst of Tech, Pennsylvania State University, Bard College, University of Mississippi, Drexel Univ, Collaborator, University of Dayton, Morgan State University, Louisiana State University, University of Geneva, Instituto Superior Tecnico - Lisboa, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Rutgers University, Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, Rutgers University, Pennsylvania State University, and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Chemical Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University-New Brunswick, Department of Physics, Rutgers University, Max-Planck-Institut für Festkörperforschung, Heisenbergstrasse 1, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany, Department of Physics and Fribourg Center for Nanomaterials, University of Fribourg, Chemin du Musée 3, CH-1700 Fribourg, Switzerland, The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, 1010 Auckland, New Zealand, Department of Physics, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795, USA, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ, USA, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA, Space Research Institute of RAS, Moscow, Russia, Georgetown University, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, University of Delaware, Brookhaven National Laboratory, San Diego State University, University of Chicago, University of Illinois at Chicago, Argonne National Laboratory, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA, University of Washington