Hydrodynamic Electronic Transport

Abstract

The “flow” of electric currents and heat in standard metals is diffusive with electronic motion randomized by impurities. However, for ultraclean metals, electrons can flow like water with their flow being described by the equations of hydrodynamics. While theoretically postulated, this situation was highly elusive for decades. In the past decade, several experimental groups have found strong indications for this type of flow, especially in graphene-based devices. In this review, we give an overview of some of the recent key developments, on both the theoretical and experimental sides.