Nernst effect in semimetals: the effective mass and the figure of merit.
We present a study of electric, thermal, and thermoelectric transport in elemental bismuth, which presents a Nernst coefficient much larger than what was found in correlated metals. We argue that this is due to the combination of an exceptionally low carrier density with a very long electronic mean-free path. The low thermomagnetic figure of merit is traced to the lightness of electrons. Heavy-electron semimetals, which keep a metallic behavior in the presence of a magnetic field, emerge as promising candidates for thermomagnetic cooling at low temperatures.
Behnia
Kamran
K
Laboratoire de Physique Quantique (CNRS), ESPCI, 10 Rue de Vauquelin, 75231 Paris, France.
Méasson
Marie-Aude
MA
Kopelevich
Yakov
Y