Alternative routes to electron hydrodynamics

Abstract

Viscous flow of interacting electrons in two dimensional materials features a bunch of exotic effects. A model resembling the Navier-Stokes equation for classical fluids accounts for them in the so called hydrodynamic regime. We perform a detailed analysis of the physical conditions to achieve electron hydrodynamic transport and find alternative routes: the application of a magnetic field or a high-frequency electric field in the absence of very frequent inelastic collisions. As a major conclusion, we show that the conventional requirement of frequent electron-electron collisions is too restrictive and, as a consequence, materials and phenomena to be described using hydrodynamics are widened. In view of our results, we discuss recent experimental evidence on viscous flow and point out alternative avenues to reduce electric dissipation in optimized devices.