Nonlinear thermoelectric effects as a means to probe quantum geometry

Abstract

The quantum geometric tensor, which has the quantum metric and Berry curvature as its real and imaginary parts, plays a key role in the transport properties of condensed matter systems. In the nonlinear regime, the quantum metric dipole and Berry curvature dipole provide two distinct mechanisms for generating nonlinear Hall effects, which can both be experimentally observed in systems with suitable symmetries. In this work, we investigate the role of quantum geometry in nonlinear thermoelectric responses. We derive a series of nonlinear thermoelectric effects governed by the Berry curvature dipole and the quantum metric dipole, respectively. Among them, we identify a particularly interesting quantized thermoelectric response that directly measures the total chirality of Weyl points below the Fermi level. For general nonlinear responses, we derive the nonlinear analogs of the Wiedemann-Franz law and Mott's formula. These provide a means to estimate the magnitude of nonlinear thermoelectric responses based on existing nonlinear Hall measurements. Our estimates suggest that these effects should be observable in several candidate materials, with In-doped Pb$_{1-x}$Sn$_x$Te standing out as the most promising. Our work offers new insights into the experimental study of quantum geometry through nonlinear thermoelectric measurements.