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A. H. Castro Neto

Publications and source records attributed to A. H. Castro Neto.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
arXiv2011

Kondo Quantum Criticality of Magnetic Adatoms in Graphene

We examine the exchange Hamiltonian for magnetic adatoms in graphene with localized inner shell states. On symmetry grounds, we predict the existence of a class of orbitals that lead to a distinct class of quantum critical points in graphene, where the Kondo temperature scales as $T_{K}\propto|J-J_{c}|^{1/3}$ near the critical coupling $J_{c}$, and the local spin is effectively screened by a \emph{super-ohmic} bath. For this class, the RKKY interaction decays spatially with a fast power law $\sim1/R^{7}$. Away from half filling, we show that the exchange coupling in graphene can be controlled across the quantum critical region by gating. We propose that the vicinity of the Kondo quantum critical point can be directly accessed with scanning tunneling probes and gating.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2011

Coulomb Drag and High Resistivity Behavior in Double Layer Graphene

We show that Coulomb drag in ultra-clean graphene double layers can be used for controlling the on/off ratio for current flow by tunning the external gate voltage. Hence, although graphene remains semi-metallic, the double layer graphene system can be tuned from conductive to a highly resistive state. We show that our results explain previous data of Coulomb drag in double layer graphene samples in disordered SiO2 substrates.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2011

Pinning of a two-dimensional membrane on top of a patterned substrate: the case of graphene

We study the pinning of a two-dimensional membrane to a patterned substrate within elastic theory both in the bending rigidity and in the strain dominated regimes. We find that both the in-plane strains and the bending rigidity can lead to depinning. We show from energetic arguments that the system experiences a first order phase transition between the attached configuration to a partially detached one when the relevant parameters of the substrate are varied, and we construct a qualitative phase diagram. Our results are confirmed through analytical solutions for some simple geometries of the substrate's profile.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗
arXiv2011

Observation of Intra- and Inter-band Transitions in the Optical Response of Graphene

The optical conductivity of freely suspended graphene was examined under non-equilibrium conditions using femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy. We observed a conductivity transient that varied strongly with the electronic temperature, exhibiting a crossover from enhanced to decreased absorbance with increasing pump fluence. The response arises from a combination of bleaching of the inter-band transitions by Pauli blocking and induced absorption from the intra-band transitions of the carriers. The latter dominates at low electronic temperature, but, despite an increase in Drude scattering rate, is overwhelmed by the former at high electronic temperature. The time-evolution of the optical conductivity in all regimes can described in terms of a time-varying electronic temperature.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2011

Transport properties of graphene with one-dimensional charge defects

We study the effect of extended charge defects in electronic transport properties of graphene. Extended defects are ubiquitous in chemically and epitaxially grown graphene samples due to internal strains associated with the lattice mismatch. We show that at low energies these defects interact quite strongly with the 2D Dirac fermions and have an important effect in the DC-conductivity of these materials.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2011

Hybridization driven quantum critical behavior in weakly-itinerant ferromagnets

We investigate the unusual magnetic properties of nearly-critical, weakly-itinerant ferromagnets with general formula UTX, where T=Rh,Co and X=Ge,Si. As a unique feature about these systems, we show that changes in the V_{df} hybridization control their proximity to a ferromagnetic instability, and determine the evolution of: the ground state magnetization, M_0, the Curie Temperature, T_C, the density of states at the Fermi level, N(E_F), the T^2 resistivity coefficient, A, and the specific heat coefficient, γ. The universal aspect of our findings comes from the dependence on only two parameters: the T_d bandwidth, W_d, and the distance between T_d and U_f band centers, C_{T_d}-C_{U_f}.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2011

Unified description of the dc conductivity of monolayer and bilayer graphene at finite densities based on resonant scatterers

We show that a coherent picture of the dc conductivity of monolayer and bilayer graphene at finite electronic densities emerges upon considering that strong short-range potentials are the main source of scattering in these two systems. The origin of the strong short-range potentials may lie in adsorbed hydrocarbons at the surface of graphene. The equivalence among results based on the partial-wave description of scattering, the Lippmann-Schwinger equation, and the T-matrix approach is established. Scattering due to resonant impurities close to the neutrality point is investigated via a numerical computation of the Kubo formula using a kernel polynomial method. We find that relevant adsorbate species originate impurity bands in monolayer and bilayer graphene close to the Dirac point. In the midgap region, a plateau of minimum conductivity of about $e^2/h$ (per layer) is induced by the resonant disorder. In bilayer graphene, a large adsorbate concentration can develop an energy gap between midgap and high-energy states. As a consequence, the conductivity plateau is supressed near the edges and a "conductivity gap" takes place. Finally, a scattering formalism for electrons in biased bilayer graphene, taking into account the degeneracy of the spectrum, is developed and the dc conductivity of that system is studied.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2010

Optical Properties of Strained Graphene

The optical conductivity of graphene strained uniaxially is studied within the Kubo-Greenwood formalism. Focusing on inter-band absorption, we analyze and quantify the breakdown of universal transparency in the visible region of the spectrum, and analytically characterize the transparency as a function of strain and polarization. Measuring transmittance as a function of incident polarization directly reflects the magnitude and direction of strain. Moreover, direction-dependent selection rules permit identification of the lattice orientation by monitoring the van-Hove transitions. These photoelastic effects in graphene can be explored towards atomically thin, broadband optical elements.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2010

Excitonic effects in the optical conductivity of gated graphene

We study the effect of electron-electron interactions in the optical conductivity of graphene under applied bias and derive a generalization of Elliot's formula, commonly used for semiconductors, for the optical intensity. We show that {\it excitonic resonances} are responsible for several features of the experimentally measured mid-infrared response of graphene such as the increase of the conductivity beyond the "universal" value above the Fermi blocked regime, the broadening of the absorption at the threshold, and the decrease of the optical conductivity at higher frequencies. Our results are also in agreement with {\it ab initio} calculations in the neutral regime.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2010

Geometry, mechanics and electronics of singular structures and wrinkles in graphene

As the thinnest atomic membrane, graphene presents an opportunity to combine geometry, elasticity and electronics at the limits of their validity. The availability of reliable atomistic potentials for graphene allows unprecedented precise simulations of the mechanical response of atomic membranes. Here we describe the transport and electronic structure in the neighbourhood of conical singularities, the elementary excitations of the ubiquitous wrinkled and crumpled graphene that occur in non-epitaxial suspended samples where shear stresses are unavoidable. We use a combination of atomistic mechanical simulations, analytical geometry and transport calculations in curved graphene, and exact diagonalization of the electronic spectrum to calculate the effects of geometry on electronic structure, transport and mobility in suspended samples. We also point out how the geometry-generated pseudo-magnetic/electric fields might disrupt Landau quantization under a magnetic field.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2010

Electronic properties of a biased graphene bilayer

We study, within the tight-binding approximation, the electronic properties of a graphene bilayer in the presence of an external electric field applied perpendicular to the system -- \emph{biased bilayer}. The effect of the perpendicular electric field is included through a parallel plate capacitor model, with screening correction at the Hartree level. The full tight-binding description is compared with its 4-band and 2-band continuum approximations, and the 4-band model is shown to be always a suitable approximation for the conditions realized in experiments. The model is applied to real biased bilayer devices, either made out of SiC or exfoliated graphene, and good agreement with experimental results is found, indicating that the model is capturing the key ingredients, and that a finite gap is effectively being controlled externally. Analysis of experimental results regarding the electrical noise and cyclotron resonance further suggests that the model can be seen as a good starting point to understand the electronic properties of graphene bilayer. Also, we study the effect of electron-hole asymmetry terms, as the second-nearest-neighbor hopping energies $t'$ (in-plane) and $γ_{4}$ (inter-layer), and the on-site energy $Δ$.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2010

Bilayer graphene: gap tunability and edge properties

Bilayer graphene -- two coupled single graphene layers stacked as in graphite -- provides the only known semiconductor with a gap that can be tuned externally through electric field effect. Here we use a tight binding approach to study how the gap changes with the applied electric field. Within a parallel plate capacitor model and taking into account screening of the external field, we describe real back gated and/or chemically doped bilayer devices. We show that a gap between zero and midinfrared energies can be induced and externally tuned in these devices, making bilayer graphene very appealing from the point of view of applications. However, applications to nanotechnology require careful treatment of the effect of sample boundaries. This being particularly true in graphene, where the presence of edge states at zero energy -- the Fermi level of the undoped system -- has been extensively reported. Here we show that also bilayer graphene supports surface states localized at zigzag edges. The presence of two layers, however, allows for a new type of edge state which shows an enhanced penetration into the bulk and gives rise to band crossing phenomenon inside the gap of the biased bilayer system.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2010

Effect of external conditions on the structure of scrolled graphene edges

Characteristic dimensions of carbon nanoscrolls - "buckyrolls" - are calculated by analyzing the competition between elastic, van der Waals, and electrostatic energies for representative models of suspended and substrate-deposited graphene samples. The results are consistent with both atomistic simulations and experimental observations of scrolled graphene edges. Electrostatic control of the wrapping is shown to be practically feasible and its possible device applications are indicated.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2009

Observation of Van Hove singularities in twisted graphene layers

Electronic instabilities at the crossing of the Fermi energy with a Van Hove singularity in the density of states often lead to new phases of matter such as superconductivity, magnetism or density waves. However, in most materials this condition is difficult to control. In the case of single-layer graphene, the singularity is too far from the Fermi energy and hence difficult to reach with standard doping and gating techniques. Here we report the observation of low-energy Van Hove singularities in twisted graphene layers seen as two pronounced peaks in the density of states measured by scanning tunneling spectroscopy. We demonstrate that a rotation between stacked graphene layers can generate Van Hove singularities, which can be brought arbitrarily close to the Fermi energy by varying the angle of rotation. This opens intriguing prospects for Van Hove singularity engineering of electronic phases.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2009

Magnetism and magnetotransport in disordered graphene

We perform Monte Carlo simulations to study the interplay of structural and magnetic order in single layer graphene covered with magnetic adatoms. We propose that the presence of ripples in the graphene structure can lead to clustering of the adatoms and to a variety of magnetic states such as super-paramagnetism, antiferromagnetism, ferromagnetism and spin glass behavior. We derive the magnetization hysteresis and also the magnetoresistance curves in the variable range hopping regime, which can provide experimental signatures for ripple induced clustering and magnetism. We propose that the magnetic states in graphene can be controlled by gate voltage and coverage fraction.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2009

Quantum Phase Transition in the Four-Spin Exchange Antiferromagnet

We study the S=1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a square lattice with nearest-neighbor and plaquette four-spin exchanges (introduced by A.W. Sandvik, Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 98}, 227202 (2007).) This model undergoes a quantum phase transition from a spontaneously dimerized phase to Néel order at a critical coupling. We show that as the critical point is approached from the dimerized side, the system exhibits strong fluctuations in the dimer background, reflected in the presence of a low-energy singlet mode, with a simultaneous rise in the triplet quasiparticle density. We find that both singlet and triplet modes of high density condense at the transition, signaling restoration of lattice symmetry. In our approach, which goes beyond mean-field theory in terms of the triplet excitations, the transition appears sharp; however since our method breaks down near the critical point, we argue that we cannot make a definite conclusion regarding the order of the transition.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2009

Theory of Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopy of Magnetic Adatoms in Graphene

We examine theoretically the signatures of magnetic adatoms in graphene probed by scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS). When the adatom hybridizes equally with the two graphene sublattices, the broadening of the local adatom level is anomalous and can scale with the cube of the energy. In contrast to ordinary metal surfaces, the adatom local moment can be suppressed by the proximity of the probing scanning tip. We propose that the dependence of the tunneling conductance on the distance between the tip and the adatom can provide a clear signature for the presence of local magnetic moments. We also show that tunneling conductance can distinguish whether the adatom is located on top of a carbon atom or in the center of a honeycomb hexagon.

cond-mat.str-el↗