Anomalous shift and optical vorticity in the steady photovoltaic current

Light can be rectified to a direct current by inducing real-space displacements (shifts) of quasiparticles. While the shift due to photon absorption ($s\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}h\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}i\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}f\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}t\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}e\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}x\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}c$) has received the prevailing attention, shifts due to intraband relaxation and interband recombination have been overlooked in recent decades. Here, the authors demonstrate that these shifts have a quantum geometric origin and can surpass $s\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}h\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}i\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}f\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}t\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}e\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}x\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}c$ by orders of magnitude. The theory is applied to a case study of the three-dimensional semiconductor BiTeI.