Chiral magnetic effect of hot electrons (2004.00165v1)

Abstract: We propose a way to observe the chiral magnetic effect in non-centrosymmetric Weyl semimetals under the action of strong electric field, via the non-linear part of their I-V characteristic that is odd in the external magnetic field, or odd-in-magnetic field voltages in electrically open circuits. This effect relies on valley-selective heating in such materials, which in general leads to nonequilibrium valley population imbalances. In the presence of an external magnetic field, such a valley-imbalanced Weyl semimetal will in general develop an electric current along the direction of the magnetic field -- the chiral magnetic effect. We also discuss a specific experimental setup to observe the chiral magnetic effect of hot electrons.