During the work, the team studied conductors made of tungsten telluride, the latter exhibits Weyl properties
Weyl semimetal is a three-dimensional analoguegraphene, a two-dimensional crystal with unique properties. In this material, electron scattering occurs on large-scale roughness of the conductor surface. The latter occur at small angles and do not change their energy. This process creates an effective viscosity, so the current starts moving like an e-liquid.
To see the vortices of this liquid, physicists created a series of samples, from 23 to 48 nanometers thick, in the form of a strip with two truncated circles touching it.
The band width was 550 nanometers, the radiuscircles - 900 nanometers. The width of the contact between the circles and the strip was different and was determined by the angular aperture. The authors also made control samples from gold of the same shape.
They then passed a current through each sample attemperature -267°C and measured the current at certain points. To do this, the authors used a scanning superconducting quantum device (SQUID). They measure magnetic fields with extremely high accuracy. This way, the team was able to observe in detail how electrons flow through patterned channels in each material.
During the work, the authors noticed that the electronspassing through the gold specimens did not change direction even when part of the current passed through each side chamber. But the electrons passing through tungsten ditelluride moved along the channel and twisted into each side chamber.
The electrons created small whirlpools in each chamber before flowing back into the main channel.
Physicists were able to experimentally confirm the fundamental property of electron behavior.
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