Longitudinal Nonreciprocal Charge Transport with Time Reversal Symmetry

Abstract: Longitudinal nonreciprocal charge transport is widely believed to require time-reversal symmetry breaking, either in magnetic materials or through external magnetic fields. Here, we show that longitudinal nonreciprocity can arise even in nonmagnetic conductors without magnetic fields through disorder-induced asymmetric scattering. Using a semiclassical Boltzmann framework, we develop a general theory in which skew-scattering and side-jump processes generate a nonlinear longitudinal current that remains finite even in time-reversal-symmetric systems. A systematic symmetry analysis identifies 42 point groups that permit this extrinsic mechanism. As a concrete realization, we demonstrate that Bernal-stacked bilayer graphene exhibits a large and gate-tunable longitudinal nonreciprocal response with a sizable nonreciprocity factor near its Lifshitz transition. These results establish disorder-driven asymmetric scattering as a general mechanism for bulk longitudinal nonreciprocal charge transport in crystalline conductors.