Nonreciprocal electric current in a bulk Rashba semiconductor

We calculate the nonreciprocal charge current in a bulk semiconductor with Rashba spin-orbit coupling subjected to crossed electric and magnetic fields. By using a second-order distribution function derived in a perturbative approach that considers the change in the local electron energy induced by the electric field [Physical Review B, 99(24), 245204], we find that, in contrast with previous theoretical estimates, a charge current proportional to the applied magnetic field exists for all values of the chemical potential, above or below the band crossing point (BCP), the energy where the two chiral conduction bands intersect. The persistence of the quadratic electric current across the BCP is a consequence of the chiral dependence of the relaxation times, an effect neglected before.