Giant Magnetochiral Anisotropy in Weyl-semimetal WTe2 Induced by Diverging Berry Curvature

Abstract

The concept of Berry curvature is essential for various transport phenomena. However, an effect of the Berry curvature on magnetochiral anisotropy, i.e. nonreciprocal magneto-transport, is still elusive. Here, we report the Berry curvature originates the large magnetochiral anisotropy. In Weyl-semimetal WTe2, we observed the strong enhancement of the magnetochiral anisotropy when the Fermi level is located near the Weyl points. Notably, the maximal figure of merit $\bar{\gamma}$ reaches $1.2\,{\times}10^{-6} \rm{m^2T^{-1}A^{-1}}$, which is the largest ever reported in bulk materials. Our semiclassical calculation shows that the diverging Berry curvature at the Weyl points strongly enhances the magnetochiral anisotropy.