Hidden degree of freedom implied by unusual nonlocal transport in a topological semimetal

Abstract: The spin Hall and inverse spin Hall effects have established a principle to understand nonlocal charge transport due to an additional degree of freedom. This principle applies successfully to the nonlocal transport due to the valley degree of freedom in graphene or to the chiral degree of freedom in a Weyl semimetal. Here we report the discovery of an unusual nonlocal charge transport that cannot be explained by any known mechanism and hence points to the existence of a hidden degree of freedom. This phenomenon was found in ZrTe$_5$ in the nodal-line semimetal phase and it occurs in the ultraquantun limit driven by the magnetic field applied along the $a$-axis. Surprisingly, the decay length of the nonlocality increases linearly with the sample width and exceeds 100 $\mu$m, suggesting that the relevant degree of freedom experiences little scattering. This nonlocal transport shows up not only as a longitudinal voltage gradient, but also as an unusual nonlocal Hall effect. Such an exotic phenomenon in a topological material is unprecedented and implies new physics.