Visco elasticity in 2D materials

Abstract

The combination of Dirac physics and elasticity has been explored at length in graphene where the so-called ‘elastic gauge fields’ have given rise to an entire new field of research and applications: straintronics. The fact that these elastic fields couple to fermions as the electromagnetic field, implies that many electromagnetic responses will have elastic counterparts not yet explored. In this work we will first show that the presence of elastic gauge fields is the rule rather than the exception in most of the topologically non-trivial materials in two- and three-dimensions. We will show that, associated to the physics of the anomalies, and as a counterpart of the Hall conductivity, elastic two-dimension materials will have a Hall viscosity with a coefficient orders of magnitude bigger than the previously studied response. The magnitude and generality of the new effect will greatly improve the chances for the experimental observation of this topological response.