Quantum-geometric shift of quasiequilibrium: Origin of nonreciprocal current driven by quantum-metric dipole

Abstract

We study nonlinear DC electric transport of quantum-metric origin by combining adiabatic perturbation theory with the nonequilibrium Green function approach. The adiabatic ansatz provides a basis for directly treating a DC electric field in the velocity gauge, rather than introducing it as the zero-frequency limit of an AC field. The resulting adiabatic-basis Hamiltonian takes the same form as in the length gauge, enabling a systematic comparison across different formulations. Applying this fully quantum formulation, we find a longitudinal nonreciprocal current governed by the quantum-metric dipole. The essential ingredient is a quantum correction to the distribution function that is absent in semiclassical treatments. We trace this correction to the finite spread of an electron wave packet during relaxation under a bias field, thereby identifying shifted quasiequilibrium as the physical origin of quantum-metric nonreciprocal transport.