Linear magnetoresistance as a Berry phase effect

ORAL

Abstract

Conventional theory of charge carrier dynamics in metals and semiconductors predicts a quadratic field dependence in the magnetoresistance (MR) in the weak field limit. A linear dependence is usually explained as a quantum effect known as weak localization. However, in systems with time reversal symmetry breaking, a linear dependence can be observed even above room temperature, where quantum coherence is absent. Here we show that linear MR can arise from the Berry curvature modified semiclassical dynamics of the charge carriers, and evaluate its magnitude in several model systems and make preliminary comparisons with experimental results.

–

Authors

  • Hua Chen

    University of Tennessee at Knoxville, University of Texas at Austin

  • Di Xiao

    Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Lab, Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831

  • Zhenyu Zhang

    University of Science and Technology of China, University of Science and Technology of China, Harvard University, University of Texas at Austin, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Tennessee; ICQD, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, China, U of Sci. \& Tech. of China, Harvard U

  • Qian Niu

    The University of Texas at Austin, University of Texas at Austin, Department of Physics, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712 USA, Department of Physics, The University of Texas at Austin