Observation of the Dirac fluid and the breakdown of the Wiedemann-Franz law in graphene

J Crossno, JK Shi, K Wang, X Liu, A Harzheim, A Lucas… - Science, 2016 - science.org
Science, 2016science.org
Interactions between particles in quantum many-body systems can lead to collective
behavior described by hydrodynamics. One such system is the electron-hole plasma in
graphene near the charge-neutrality point, which can form a strongly coupled Dirac fluid.
This charge-neutral plasma of quasi-relativistic fermions is expected to exhibit a substantial
enhancement of the thermal conductivity, thanks to decoupling of charge and heat currents
within hydrodynamics. Employing high-sensitivity Johnson noise thermometry, we report an …
Interactions between particles in quantum many-body systems can lead to collective behavior described by hydrodynamics. One such system is the electron-hole plasma in graphene near the charge-neutrality point, which can form a strongly coupled Dirac fluid. This charge-neutral plasma of quasi-relativistic fermions is expected to exhibit a substantial enhancement of the thermal conductivity, thanks to decoupling of charge and heat currents within hydrodynamics. Employing high-sensitivity Johnson noise thermometry, we report an order of magnitude increase in the thermal conductivity and the breakdown of the Wiedemann-Franz law in the thermally populated charge-neutral plasma in graphene. This result is a signature of the Dirac fluid and constitutes direct evidence of collective motion in a quantum electronic fluid.
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