Condensed matter realization of the axial magnetic effect

Abstract

The axial magneticeffect, i.e., the generation of an energy current parallel to an axial magnetic field coupling with opposite signs to left- and right-handed fermions, is a nondissipative transport phenomenon intimately related to the gravitational contribution to the axial anomaly. An axial magnetic field emerges naturally in condensed matter in so-called Weyl semimetals. We present a measurable implementation of the axial magnetic effect. We show that the edge states of a Weyl semimetal at finite temperature possess a temperature dependent angular momentum in the direction of the vector potential intrinsic to the system. Such a realization provides a plausible context for the experimental confirmation of the elusive gravitational anomaly. © 2014 American Physical Society.