Imaging phonon-mediated hydrodynamic flow in WTe2

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Uri Vool - , Harvard University (Author)
  • Assaf Hamo - , Harvard University (Author)
  • Georgios Varnavides - , Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (Author)
  • Yaxian Wang - , Harvard University (Author)
  • Tony X. Zhou - , Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (Author)
  • Nitesh Kumar - , Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids (Author)
  • Yuliya Dovzhenko - , Harvard University (Author)
  • Ziwei Qiu - , Harvard University (Author)
  • Christina A.C. Garcia - , Harvard University (Author)
  • Andrew T. Pierce - , Harvard University (Author)
  • Johannes Gooth - , Harvard University, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids, TUD Dresden University of Technology (Author)
  • Polina Anikeeva - , Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (Author)
  • Claudia Felser - , Harvard University, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids (Author)
  • Prineha Narang - , Harvard University (Author)
  • Amir Yacoby - , Harvard University (Author)

Abstract

In the presence of interactions, electrons in condensed-matter systems can behave hydrodynamically, exhibiting phenomena associated with classical fluids, such as vortices and Poiseuille flow1–3. In most conductors, electron–electron interactions are minimized by screening effects, hindering the search for hydrodynamic materials; however, recently, a class of semimetals has been reported to exhibit prominent interactions4,5. Here we study the current flow in the layered semimetal tungsten ditelluride by imaging the local magnetic field using a nitrogen-vacancy defect in a diamond. We image the spatial current profile within three-dimensional tungsten ditelluride and find that it exhibits non-uniform current density, indicating hydrodynamic flow. Our temperature-resolved current profile measurements reveal a non-monotonic temperature dependence, with the strongest hydrodynamic effects at approximately 20 K. We also report ab initio calculations showing that electron–electron interactions are not explained by the Coulomb interaction alone, but are predominantly mediated by phonons. This provides a promising avenue in the search for hydrodynamic flow and prominent electron interactions in high-carrier-density materials.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1216-1220
Number of pages5
JournalNature physics
Volume17
Issue number11
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2021
Peer-reviewedYes

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas