Evidence for the chiral anomaly in the Dirac semimetal Na 3 Bi
Abstract
Dirac semimetals have graphene-like electronic structure, albeit in three rather than two dimensions. In a magnetic field, their Dirac cones split into two halves, one supporting left-handed and the other right-handed fermions. If an electric field is applied parallel to the magnetic field, this “chiral” symmetry may break: a phenomenon called the chiral anomaly. Xiong et al. observed this anomaly in the Dirac semimetal Na 3 Bi (see the Perspective by Burkov). Transport measurements lead to the detection of the predicted large negative magnetoresistance, which appeared only when the two fields were nearly parallel to each other.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Oct 23, 2015
- Source ID
- 10.1126/science.aac6089
Entities
People
- Jason W. Krizan
- Jun Xiong
- Max Hirschberger
- N. P. Ong
- R. J. Cava
- Satya K. Kushwaha
- Tian Liang
- Wudi Wang
Organizations
- Army Research Office
- Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
- National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
- National Science Foundation
- Princeton University