Chiral magnetic effect
TL;DR: In this article, the chiral magnetic effect of topological charge changing transitions in the quark-gluon plasma has been studied and an electromagnetic current is generated along the magnetic field.
Abstract: Topological charge changing transitions can induce chirality in the quark-gluon plasma by the axial anomaly. We study the equilibrium response of the quark-gluon plasma in such a situation to an external magnetic field. To mimic the effect of the topological charge changing transitions we will introduce a chiral chemical potential. We will show that an electromagnetic current is generated along the magnetic field. This is the chiral magnetic effect. We compute the magnitude of this current as a function of magnetic field, chirality, temperature, and baryon chemical potential.
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TL;DR: Weyl points can be thought of as magnetic monopoles in momentum space that always appear in pairs as discussed by the authors, and magnetoresistance measurements indicate the existence of the chiral anomaly in Weyl semimetal TaAs single crystals.
Abstract: Weyl points can be thought of as magnetic monopoles in momentum space that always appear in pairs. Magnetoresistance measurements indicate the existence of the long-anticipated chiral anomaly in Weyl semimetal TaAs single crystals.
955 citations
Cites background from "Chiral magnetic effect"
...The anomalous dc transport properties are an important consequence of the topological band structure [13,25,26]....
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TL;DR: In this article, the magnetic field emerging in heavy-ion collisions has the magnitude of the order of $eB_y \sim 10^{-1} \cdot m_\pi^2$ for the SPS energy range and $b_y ǫ \sim m_ \pi^ 2$ for RHIC energies.
Abstract: Magnetic fields created in the noncentral heavy-ion collision are studied within a microscopic transport model, namely the Ultrarelativistic Quantum Molecular Dynamics model (UrQMD). Simulations were carried out for different impact parameters within the SPS energy range (Elab = 10-158A GeV) and for highest energies accessible for RHIC. We show that the magnetic field emerging in heavy-ion collisions has the magnitude of the order of $eB_y \sim 10^{-1} \cdot m_\pi^2$ for the SPS energy range and $eB_y \sim m_\pi^2$ for the RHIC energies. The estimated value of the magnetic field strength for the LHC energy amounts to $eB_y\sim 15 \cdot m_\pi^2$.
939 citations
TL;DR: A magnetotransport study of zirconium pentatelluride, ZrTe5, has been carried out in this paper, which reveals evidence for a chiral magnetic effect, a striking macroscopic manifestation of the quantum and relativistic nature of Weyl semimetals.
Abstract: A magnetotransport study of zirconium pentatelluride now reveals evidence for a chiral magnetic effect, a striking macroscopic manifestation of the quantum and relativistic nature of Weyl semimetals The chiral magnetic effect is the generation of an electric current induced by chirality imbalance in the presence of a magnetic field It is a macroscopic manifestation of the quantum anomaly1,2 in relativistic field theory of chiral fermions (massless spin 1/2 particles with a definite projection of spin on momentum)—a remarkable phenomenon arising from a collective motion of particles and antiparticles in the Dirac sea The recent discovery3,4,5,6 of Dirac semimetals with chiral quasiparticles opens a fascinating possibility to study this phenomenon in condensed matter experiments Here we report on the measurement of magnetotransport in zirconium pentatelluride, ZrTe5, that provides strong evidence for the chiral magnetic effect Our angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy experiments show that this material’s electronic structure is consistent with a three-dimensional Dirac semimetal We observe a large negative magnetoresistance when the magnetic field is parallel with the current The measured quadratic field dependence of the magnetoconductance is a clear indication of the chiral magnetic effect The observed phenomenon stems from the effective transmutation of a Dirac semimetal into a Weyl semimetal induced by parallel electric and magnetic fields that represent a topologically non-trivial gauge field background We expect that the chiral magnetic effect may emerge in a wide class of materials that are near the transition between the trivial and topological insulators
806 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the magnetic field emerging in heavy-ion collisions has the magnitude of the order of $eB_y \sim 10^{-1} m_\pi^2
Abstract: Magnetic fields created in the noncentral heavy-ion collision are studied within a microscopic transport model, namely the Ultrarelativistic Quantum Molecular Dynamics model (UrQMD). Simulations were carried out for different impact parameters within the SPS energy range ($E_{lab} = 10 - 158 A$ GeV) and for highest energies accessible for RHIC. We show that the magnetic field emerging in heavy-ion collisions has the magnitude of the order of $eB_y \sim 10^{-1} m_\pi^2$ for the SPS energy range and $eB_y \sim m_\pi^2$ for the RHIC energies. The estimated value of the magnetic field strength for the LHC energy amounts to $eB_y \sim 15 m_\pi^2$.
652 citations
Peking University1, Princeton University2, Huazhong University of Science and Technology3, National University of Singapore4, National Tsing Hua University5, Academia Sinica6, University of Central Florida7, Los Alamos National Laboratory8, South University of Science and Technology of China9, University of Hong Kong10
TL;DR: Signs of the Weyl fermion chiral anomaly in the magneto-transport of TaAs are reported and it is observed that high mobility TaAs samples become more conductive as a magnetic field is applied along the direction of the current for certain ranges of the field strength.
Abstract: Weyl semimetals provide the realization of Weyl fermions in solid-state physics. Among all the physical phenomena that are enabled by Weyl semimetals, the chiral anomaly is the most unusual one. Here, we report signatures of the chiral anomaly in the magneto-transport measurements on the first Weyl semimetal TaAs. We show negative magnetoresistance under parallel electric and magnetic fields, that is, unlike most metals whose resistivity increases under an external magnetic field, we observe that our high mobility TaAs samples become more conductive as a magnetic field is applied along the direction of the current for certain ranges of the field strength. We present systematically detailed data and careful analyses, which allow us to exclude other possible origins of the observed negative magnetoresistance. Our transport data, corroborated by photoemission measurements, first-principles calculations and theoretical analyses, collectively demonstrate signatures of the Weyl fermion chiral anomaly in the magneto-transport of TaAs.
642 citations
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TL;DR: Owing to its unusual electronic spectrum, graphene has led to the emergence of a new paradigm of 'relativistic' condensed-matter physics, where quantum relativistic phenomena can now be mimicked and tested in table-top experiments.
Abstract: Graphene is a rapidly rising star on the horizon of materials science and condensed-matter physics. This strictly two-dimensional material exhibits exceptionally high crystal and electronic quality, and, despite its short history, has already revealed a cornucopia of new physics and potential applications, which are briefly discussed here. Whereas one can be certain of the realness of applications only when commercial products appear, graphene no longer requires any further proof of its importance in terms of fundamental physics. Owing to its unusual electronic spectrum, graphene has led to the emergence of a new paradigm of 'relativistic' condensed-matter physics, where quantum relativistic phenomena, some of which are unobservable in high-energy physics, can now be mimicked and tested in table-top experiments. More generally, graphene represents a conceptually new class of materials that are only one atom thick, and, on this basis, offers new inroads into low-dimensional physics that has never ceased to surprise and continues to provide a fertile ground for applications.
35,293 citations
TL;DR: This study reports an experimental study of a condensed-matter system (graphene, a single atomic layer of carbon) in which electron transport is essentially governed by Dirac's (relativistic) equation and reveals a variety of unusual phenomena that are characteristic of two-dimensional Dirac fermions.
Abstract: Quantum electrodynamics (resulting from the merger of quantum mechanics and relativity theory) has provided a clear understanding of phenomena ranging from particle physics to cosmology and from astrophysics to quantum chemistry. The ideas underlying quantum electrodynamics also influence the theory of condensed matter, but quantum relativistic effects are usually minute in the known experimental systems that can be described accurately by the non-relativistic Schrodinger equation. Here we report an experimental study of a condensed-matter system (graphene, a single atomic layer of carbon) in which electron transport is essentially governed by Dirac's (relativistic) equation. The charge carriers in graphene mimic relativistic particles with zero rest mass and have an effective 'speed of light' c* approximately 10(6) m s(-1). Our study reveals a variety of unusual phenomena that are characteristic of two-dimensional Dirac fermions. In particular we have observed the following: first, graphene's conductivity never falls below a minimum value corresponding to the quantum unit of conductance, even when concentrations of charge carriers tend to zero; second, the integer quantum Hall effect in graphene is anomalous in that it occurs at half-integer filling factors; and third, the cyclotron mass m(c) of massless carriers in graphene is described by E = m(c)c*2. This two-dimensional system is not only interesting in itself but also allows access to the subtle and rich physics of quantum electrodynamics in a bench-top experiment.
18,958 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the axial-vector vertex in spinor electrodynamics has anomalous properties which differ with those found by the formal manipulation of field equations, and the divergence of axial vector current is not the usual expression calculated from the field equations.
Abstract: Working within the framework of perturbation theory, we show that the axial-vector vertex in spinor electrodynamics has anomalous properties which disagree with those found by the formal manipulation of field equations. Specifically, because of the presence of closed-loop "triangle diagrams," the divergence of axial-vector current is not the usual expression calculated from the field equations, and the axial-vector current does not satisfy the usual Ward identity. One consequence is that, even after the external-line wave-function renormalizations are made, the axial-vector vertex is still divergent in fourth- (and higher-) order perturbation theory. A corollary is that the radiative corrections to ${\ensuremath{
u}}_{l}l$ elastic scattering in the local current-current theory diverge in fourth (and higher) order. A second consequence is that, in massless electrodynamics, despite the fact that the theory is invariant under ${\ensuremath{\gamma}}_{5}$ tranformations, the axial-vector current is not conserved. In an Appendix we demonstrate the uniqueness of the triangle diagrams, and discuss a possible connection between our results and the ${\ensuremath{\pi}}^{0}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}2\ensuremath{\gamma}$ and $\ensuremath{\eta}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}2\ensuremath{\gamma}$ decays. In particular, we argue that as a result of triangle diagrams, the equations expressing partial conservation of axial-vector current (PCAC) for the neutral members of the axial-vector-current octet must be modified in a well-defined manner, which completely alters the PCAC predictions for the ${\ensuremath{\pi}}^{0}$ and the $\ensuremath{\eta}$ two-photon decays.
3,232 citations
TL;DR: In this article, it was shown that nonperturburbative effects can give rise to interactions that violate the charge conservation in models of fermions coupled to gauge fields and that the total charge corresponding to such currents seems to be still conserved.
Abstract: In models of fermions coupled to gauge fields certain current-conservation laws are violated by Bell-Jackiw anomalies. In perturbation theory the total charge corresponding to such currents seems to be still conserved, but here it is shown that nonperturbative effects can give rise to interactions that violate the charge conservation. One consequence is baryon and lepton number nonconservation in $V\ensuremath{-}A$ gauge theories with charm. Another is the nonvanishing mass squared of the $\ensuremath{\eta}$.
2,425 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors estimate the rate of anomalous electroweak baryon-number nonconserving processes in the cosmic plasma and find that it exceeds the expansion rate of the universe at T > ( a few ) × 10 2 GeV.
2,367 citations