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arXiv · 1505.06398

Atomic resolution imaging of the two-component Dirac-Landau levels in a gapped graphene monolayer

Wen-Xiao Wang·Long-Jing Yin·Jia-Bin Qiao·Tuocheng Cai·Si-Yu Li·Rui-Fen Dou·Jia-Cai Nie·Xiaosong Wu·Lin He
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Abstract

The wavefunction of massless Dirac fermions is a two-component spinor. In graphene, a one-atom-thick film showing two-dimensional Dirac-like electronic excitations, the two-component representation reflects the amplitude of the electron wavefunction on the A and B sublattices. This unique property provides unprecedented opportunities to image the two components of massless Dirac fermions spatially. Here we report atomic resolution imaging of the two-component Dirac-Landau levels in a gapped graphene monolayer by scanning tunnelling microscopy and spectroscopy. A gap of about 20 meV, driven by inversion symmetry breaking by the substrate potential, is observed in the graphene on both SiC and graphite substrates. Such a gap splits the n = 0 Landau level (LL) into two levels, 0+ and 0-. We demonstrate that the amplitude of the wavefunction of the 0- LL is mainly at the A sites and that of the 0+ LL is mainly at the B sites of graphene, characterizing the internal structure of the spinor of the n = 0 LL. This provides direct evidence of the two-component nature of massless Dirac fermions.

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Wen-Xiao Wang, Long-Jing Yin, Jia-Bin Qiao, Tuocheng Cai, Si-Yu Li, Rui-Fen Dou, Jia-Cai Nie, Xiaosong Wu, Lin He. 2015-05-24. Atomic resolution imaging of the two-component Dirac-Landau levels in a gapped graphene monolayer. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.92.165420

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