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R. Martínez von Dossow

Publications and source records attributed to R. Martínez von Dossow.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

Revisiting Cherenkov radiation in anisotropic chiral matter: exact calculation reveals threshold-free emission

We explore Cherenkov radiation in anisotropic chiral matter within the framework of Carroll-Field-Jackiw electrodynamics, where the axion angle exhibits a linear dependence on position. By deriving closed-form expressions for the polarization modes of electromagnetic fields in cylindrical coordinates and the space-frequency domain, we solve the modified Maxwell's equations. To enforce causality, we impose outgoing wave boundary conditions at a cylindrical surface at infinity, which yields the dispersion relations. Our analysis uncovers the specific angles and frequency ranges that allow for zero, one, or two Cherenkov cones. We also obtain the spectral energy distribution of the radiation in all cases. Notably, one sector of the model exhibits a novel phenomenon: Cherenkov radiation can be generated by slowly moving charges without a threshold, but only within a specific frequency range. This behavior is not observed in standard materials. Using our exact calculations, we also investigate the reliability of an approximate method previously proposed based on the calculation of the Green's function for the system.

hep-ph↗

Anomalous Hall effect in anisotropic type-II Weyl semimetals

We extend our previous analysis [Phys. Rev. D 109, 065005 (2024)] of CPT-odd electromagnetic response in tilted, anisotropic Weyl semimetals to the overtilted (type-II) regime, where electron and hole pockets coexist at the Fermi level. Starting from the minimal QED sector of the Standard-Model Extension matched to a lattice-motivated anisotropic Dirac Hamiltonian with tilt, we compute the zero-temperature finite-density effective action nonperturbatively from the vacuum polarization tensor, and corroborate the result using a complementary chiral kinetic theory formulation that consistently incorporates both Fermi-sea and Fermi-surface contributions. In the type-II regime the unbounded linear dispersion necessitates a physical ultraviolet regularization. Implementing a hard momentum cutoff tied to the lattice bandwidth, we show that the CPT-odd, axion-like response remains finite across the type-I to type-II Lifshitz transition, while acquiring tilt- and anisotropy-dependent renormalizations together with nonuniversal, cutoff-sensitive terms governed by the geometry of the electron and hole pockets. As a concrete application, we evaluate the anomalous Hall conductivity in the prototypical type-II Weyl semimetal WTe$_2$, using parameters extracted from first-principles calculations and experiments, and find that Fermi-sea and Fermi-surface contributions are comparable and partially cancel, yielding a finite and strongly anisotropic Hall response characteristic of the overtilted regime.

hep-th↗

Cherenkov radiation in isotropic chiral matter: the space-frequency domain

The electromagnetic response of isotropic chiral matter, as described by Carroll-Field-Jackiw electrodynamics, arises in distinct physical contexts ranging from condensed matter systems to Lorentz-violating extensions of high-energy physics. Here, we derive exact expressions for the circularly polarized electromagnetic fields that contribute independently to Cherenkov radiation in isotropic chiral matter. Each spectral energy distribution is gauge-invariant and positive, yielding radiation that emerges at a characteristic angle, akin to the standard case. Furthermore, we identify specific frequency ranges that permit zero, one, or two Cherenkov cones for a given setup. Remarkably, one sector of the model allows for the existence of threshold-free Cherenkov radiation arising from slowly-moving charges.

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Effective electromagnetic Lagrangians in the derivative expansion method

We calculate the effective electromagnetic Lagrangian up to the lowest-order corrections in the derivatives for two fermionic systems of interest in condensed matter physics in the linearized approximation of the tight-binding Hamiltonian near the Fermi level in the Brillouin zone: (i) the $(3+1)$ description of the simplest Weyl semimetal and (ii) the massive $(2+1)$ electrodynamics, which can serve as a model for the interface between two $(3+1)$ topological insulators. We employ the derivative expansion method which directly provides local effective Lagrangians and allows selecting from the outset both the powers of the electromagnetic potential to be considered together with the number of relevant derivatives. We find new higher-order derivative corrections to Carroll-Field-Jackiw electrodynamics. In general, the new terms we find either have a similar structure or constitute a relativistic generalization of some recent phenomenological proposals found in the literature. In this way, they should be incorporated into these proposals for assessing the relative significance of all the terms included up to a given order.

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Momentum non-conservation in a scalar quantum field theory with a planar $θ$ interface

Motivated by the recent interest aroused by non-dynamical axionic electrodynamics in the context of topological insulators and Weyl semimetals, we discuss a simple model of the magnetoelectric effect in terms of a $θ$-scalar field that interacts through a delta-like potential located at a planar interface. Thus, in the bulk regions the field is constructed by standard free waves with the absence of evanescent components. These waves have to be combined into linear superposition to account for the boundary conditions at the interface in order to yield the corresponding normal modes. Our aim is twofold: first we quantize the $θ$-scalar field using the normal modes in the canonical approach and then we look for applications emphasizing the effect of momentum non-conservation due to the presence of the interface. To this end we calculate the decay of a standard scalar particle into two $θ$-scalar particles showing the opening of new decay channels. As a second application we deal with the two body scattering of standard charged scalar particles mediated by a $θ$-scalar particle, focusing on the momentum non-conserving contribution of the scattering amplitude ${\cal M}^{NC}$. We define a generalization of the usual cross section in order to quantify the emergence of these events. We also study the allowed kinematical region for momentum non-conservation as well as the position of the poles of the amplitude ${\cal M}^{NC}$. Finally, the ratio of the magnitudes between ${\cal M}^{NC}$ and the momentum conserving amplitude is discussed in the appropriate region of momentum space.

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Lorentz invariance violation and the CPT-odd electromagnetic response of a tilted anisotropic Weyl semimetal

We derive the electromagnetic response of a particular fermionic sector in the minimal QED contribution to the Standard Model Extension (SME), which can be physically realized in terms of a model describing a tilted and anisotropic Weyl semimetal (WSM). The contact is made through the identification of the Dirac-like Hamiltonian resulting from the SME with that corresponding to the WSM in the linearized tight-binding approximation. We first calculate the effective action by computing the non-perturbative vacuum polarization tensor using thermal field theory techniques, focusing upon the corrections at finite chemical potential and zero temperature. Next, we confirm our results by a direct calculation of the anomalous Hall current within a chiral kinetic theory approach. In an ideal Dirac cone picture of the WSM (isotropic and non-tilted) such response is known to be governed by axion electrodynamics, with the space-time dependent axion angle $Θ(\mathbf{r},t) = 2 (\mathbf{b} \cdot \mathbf{r} - b _{0} t)$, being $2 \mathbf{b}$ and $2b _{0}$ the separation of the Weyl nodes in momentum and energy, respectively. In this paper we demonstrate that the node tilting and the anisotropies induce novel corrections at a finite density which however preserve the structure of the axionic field theory. We apply our results to the ideal Weyl semimetal $\mathrm{EuCd}_{2}\mathrm{As}_{2}$ and to the highly anisotropic and tilted monopnictide $\mathrm{TaAs}$.

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