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Adam Rycerz

Publications and source records attributed to Adam Rycerz.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Lifshitz transition and thermoelectric properties of bilayer graphene

This is a numerical study of thermoelectric properties of ballistic bilayer graphene in the presence of trigonal warping term in the effective Hamiltonian. We find, in the mesoscopic samples of the length $L>10\,μ$m at sub-Kelvin temperatures, that both the Seebeck coefficient and the Lorentz number show anomalies (the additional maximum and minimum, respectively) when the electrochemical potential is close to the Lifshitz energy, which can be attributed to the presence of the van Hove singularity in a bulk density of states. At higher temperatures the anomalies vanish, but measurable quantities characterizing remaining maximum of the Seebeck coefficient still unveil the presence of massless Dirac fermions and make it possible to determine the trigonal warping strength. Behavior of the thermoelectric figure of merit ($ZT$) is also discussed.

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Pairwise entanglement and the Mott transition for correlated electrons in nanochains

Pairwise entanglement, calculated separately for charge and spin degrees of freedom, is proposed as a ground-state signature of the Mott transition in correlated nanoscopic systems. Utilizing the exact diagonalization - ab initio method (EDABI), for chains containing $N\leqslant{}16$ hydrogenic-like atoms (at the half filling), we find that the vanishing of the nearest-neighbor charge concurrence indicates the crossover from a partly-localized quantum liquid to the Mott insulator. Spin concurrence remains nonzero at the insulating phase, showing that the decopling of spin and charge degrees of freedom may manifest itself by wavefunctions entangled in spin, but separable in charge coordinates. At the quarter filling, the analysis for $N\leqslant{}20$ shows that spin concurrence vanishes immediately when the charge-energy gap obtained from the scaling with $1/N\rightarrow{}0$ vanishes, constituting a finite-system version of the Mott transition. Analytic derivations of the formulas expressing either charge or spin concurrence in terms of ground-state correlation functions are also provided.

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Nonstandard transition GUE-GOE for random matrices and spectral statistics of graphene nanoflakes

Spectral statistics of weakly-disordered triangular graphene flakes with zigzag edges are revisited. Earlier, we have found numerically that such systems may shown spectral fluctuations of GUE, signalling the time-reversal symmetry breaking at zero magnetic field, accompanied by approximate twofold valley degeneracy of each energy level [Phys. Rev. B 85, 245424 (2012)]. Atomic-scale disorder induce the scattering of charge carriers between the valleys and restores the spectral fluctuations of GOE. A simplified description of such a nonstandard GUE-GOE transition, employing the mixed ensemble of 4x4 real symmetric matrices was also proposed. Here we complement our previous study by analyzing numerically the spectral fluctuations of large matrices belonging the same mixed ensemble. Resulting scaling laws relate the ensemble parameter to physical size and the number of atomic-scale defects in graphene flake. A phase diagram, indicating the regions in which the signatures of GUE may by observable in the size-doping parameter plane, is presented.

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Trigonal warping, pseudodiffusive transport, and finite-system version of the Lifshitz transition in magnetoconductance of bilayer-graphene Corbino disks

Using the transfer matrix in the angular-momentum space we investigate the impact of trigonal warping on magnetotransport and scaling properties of a ballistic bilayer graphene in the Corbino geometry. Although the conductivity at the charge-neutrality point and zero magnetic field exhibits a one-parameter scaling, the shot-noise characteristics, quantified by the Fano factor $\mathcal{F}$ and the third charge-transfer cumulant $\mathcal{R}$, remain pseudodiffusive. This shows that the pseudodiffusive transport regime in bilayer graphene is not related to the universal value of the conductivity but can be identified by higher charge-transfer cumulants. For Corbino disks with larger radii ratios the conductivity is suppressed by the trigonal warping, mainly because the symmetry reduction amplifies backscattering for normal modes corresponding to angular-momentum eigenvalues $\pm{}2\hbar$. Weak magnetic fields enhance the conductivity, reaching the maximal value near the crossover field $B_L=\frac{4}{3}\sqrt{3}\,({\hbar}/{e})\,t't_\perp\!\left[{t_0^2a(R_{\rm o}-R_{\rm i})}\right]^{-1}$, where $t_0$ ($t_\perp$) is the nearest-neighbor intra- (inter-)layer hopping integral, $t'$ is the skew-interlayer hopping integral, and $R_{\rm o}$ ($R_{\rm i}$) is the outer (inner) disk radius. For magnetic fields $B\gtrsim{}B_L$ we observe quasiperiodic conductance oscillations characterized by the decreasing mean value $\langleσ\rangle-σ_0\propto{}B_L/B$, where $σ_0=(8/π)\,e^2/h$. The conductivity, as well as higher charge-transfer cumulants, show beating patterns with an envelope period proportional to $\sqrt{B/B_L}$. This constitutes a qualitative difference between the high-field ($B\gg{}B_L$) magnetotransport in the $t'=0$ case (earlier discussed in Ref. [1]) and in the $t'\neq{}0$ case, providing a finite-system analog of the Lifshitz transition.

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Conditions for Conductance Quantization in Mesoscopic Dirac Systems on the Examples of Graphene Nanoconstrictions

Ballistic transport through an impurity-free section of the Corbino disk in graphene is investigated by means of the Landauer-Büttiker formalism in the mesoscopic limit. In the linear-responce regime the conductance is quantized in steps close to integer multiples of $4e^{2}/h$, yet Fabry-Perot oscillations are strongly suppressed. The quantization arises for small opening angles $θ\lesssimπ/3$ and large radii ratios $R_2/R_1\gtrsim{}10$. We find that the condition for emergence of the $n$-th conductance step can be written as $\sqrt{n}θ/π\ll{}1$. A brief comparison with the conductance spectra of graphene nanoribbons with parallel edges is also provided.

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Magnetoconductance of the Corbino disk in graphene: Chiral tunneling and quantum interference in the bilayer case

Quantum transport through an impurity-free Corbino disk in bilayer graphene is investigated analytically, by the mode-matching method for effective Dirac equation, in the presence of uniform magnetic fields. Similarly as in the monolayer case (see Refs. [1,2]), conductance at the Dirac point shows oscillations with the flux piercing the disk area $Φ_D$ characterized by the period $Φ_0=2\,(h/e)\ln(R_{\rm o}/R_{\rm i})$, where $R_{\rm o}$ ($R_{\rm i}$) is the outer (inner) disk radius. The oscillations magnitude depends either on the radii ratio or on the physical disk size, with the condition for maximal oscillations reading $R_{\rm o}/R_{\rm i}\simeq\left[\,R_{\rm i}t_{\perp}/(2\hbar{}v_{F})\,\right]^{4/p}$ (for $R_{\rm o}/R_{\rm i}\gg{}1$), where $t_\perp$ is the interlayer hopping integral, $v_F$ is the Fermi velocity in graphene, and $p$ is an {\em even} integer. {\em Odd}-integer values of $p$ correspond to vanishing oscillations for the normal Corbino setup, or to oscillations frequency doubling for the Andreev-Corbino setup. At higher Landau levels (LLs) magnetoconductance behaves almost identically in the monolayer and bilayer cases. A brief comparison with the Corbino disk in 2DEG is also provided in order to illustrate the role of chiral tunneling in graphene.

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Minimal conductivity and signatures of quantum criticality in ballistic graphene bilayer

We study the ballistic conductivity of graphene bilayer in the presence of next-nearest neighbor hoppings between the layers. An undoped and unbiased system was found in Ref. [1] to show a nonuniversal (length-dependent) conductivity $σ(L)$, approaching the value of $σ_\star=3/π\simeq{}0.95$ for large $L$. Here we demonstrate one-parameter scaling and determine the scaling function $β(σ)=d\ln{}\!σ/d\ln{}\!L$. The scaling flow has an attractive fixed point [$\,β(σ_\star)=0$, $β'(σ_\star)<0\,$] reproducing the scenario predicted for random impurity scattering of Dirac fermions with Coulomb repulsion, albeit the system considered is perfectly ballistic and interactions are not taken into account. The role of electrostatic bias between the layers is also briefly discussed.

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Quantum-limited shot noise and quantum interference in graphene based Corbino disk

This is a theoretical study of finite voltage effects on the conductance, the shot noise power, and the third charge-transfer cumulant for graphene-based Corbino disk in the presence of external magnetic fields. Periodic magnetoconductance oscillations, predicted in Refs. [1,2], become invisible for relatively small source-drain voltages, as the current decays rapidly with magnetic field. Quantum interference still governs the behavior of higher charge-transfer cumulants.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Pseudodiffusive conductance, quantum-limited shot noise, and Landau-level hierarchy in biased graphene bilayer

We discuss, by means of mode-matching analysis for the Dirac equation, how splittings of the Landau-level (LL) degeneracies associated with spin, valley, and layer degrees of freedom affect the ballistic conductance of graphene bilayer. The results show that for wide samples ($W\gg{}L$) the Landauer-Büttiker conductance reaches the maximum $G\simeq{}se^2/(π{h})\times{}W/L$ at the resonance via each LL, with the prefactor varying from $s=8$ if all three degeneracies are preserved, to $s=1$ if all the degeneracies are split. In the absence of bias between the layers, the degeneracies associated with spin and layer degrees of freedom may be split by manipulating the doping and magnetic field; the conductance at the zeroth LL is twice as large, while the conductance at any other LL equals to the corresponding conductance of graphene monolayer. The presence of bias potential allows one also to split the valley degeneracy. Our results show that the charge transfer at each LL has pseudodiffusive character, with the second and third cumulant quantified by ${\cal F}=1/3$ and ${\cal R}=1/15$ (respectively). In case the electrochemical potential is allowed to slowly fluctuate in a finite vicinity of LL, the resulting charge-transfer characteristics are still quantum-limited, with ${\cal F}\simeq{}0.7$ and ${\cal R}\simeq{}0.5$ in the limit of large fluctuations. The above values of ${\cal F}$ and ${\cal R}$ are also predicted to be approached in the limit of high source-drain voltage difference applied. The possible effects of indirect interlayer hopping integrals are also briefly discussed.

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Strain-induced transitions to quantum chaos and effective time-reversal symmetry breaking in triangular graphene nanoflakes

We investigate the effect of strain-induced gauge fields on statistical distribution of energy levels of triangular graphene nanoflakes with zigzag edges. In the absence of strain fields but in the presence of weak potential disorder such systems were found in Ref. [1] to display the spectral statistics of the Gaussian unitary ensemble (GUE) due to the effective time-reversal (symplectic) symmetry breaking. Here show that, in the absence of disorder, strain fields may solely lead to spectral fluctuations of GUE providing a nanoflake is deformed such that all its geometric symmetries are broken. In a particular case when a single mirror symmetry is preserved the spectral statistics follow the Gaussian orthogonal ensemble (GOE) rather then GUE. The corresponding transitions to quantum chaos are rationalized by means of additive random-matrix models and the analogy between strain-induced gauge fields and real magnetic fields is discussed.

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Random matrices and quantum chaos in weakly-disordered graphene nanoflakes

Statistical distribution of energy levels for Dirac fermions confined in a quantum dot is studied numerically on the examples of triangular and hexagonal graphene flakes with random electrostatic potential landscape. When increasing the disorder strength, level distribution evolves from Poissonian to Wigner, indicating the transition to quantum chaos. The unitary ensemble (with the twofold valley degeneracy) is observed for triangular flakes with zigzag or Klein edges and potential varying smoothly on the scale of atomic separation. For small number of edge defects, the unitary-to-orthogonal symmetry transition is found at zero magnetic field. For remaining systems, the orthogonal ensemble appears. These findings are rationalized by means of additive random-matrix models for the cases of weak and strong intervalley scattering of charge carriers in graphene. The influence of weak magnetic fields, as well as the strong-disorder-induced wavefunction localization, on the level distribution is also briefly discussed.

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Aharonov-Bohm and relativistic Corbino effects in graphene: A comparative study of two quantum interference phenomena

This is an analytical study of magnetic fields effects on the conductance, the shot noise power, and the third charge-transfer cumulant for Aharonov-Bohm rings and Corbino disks in graphene. The two distinct physical mechanisms lead to very similar magnetotransport behaviors. Differences are unveiled when discussing the third-cumulant dependence on magnetic fields.

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Transition to Quantum Chaos in Weakly Disordered Graphene Nanoflakes

We analyze numerically ensembles of tight-binding Hamiltonians describing highly-symmetric graphene nanoflakes with weak diagonal disorder induced by random electrostatic potential landscapes. When increasing the disorder strength, statistical distribution of energy levels evolves from Poissonian to Wigner, indicating the transition to quantum chaos. Power laws with the universal exponent map the disorder strength in nanoflakes of different sizes, boundaries, and microscopic disorder types onto a single parameter in additive random-matrix model.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Magnetoconductance of the Corbino disk in graphene

Electron transport through the Corbino disk in graphene is studied in the presence of uniform magnetic fields. At the Dirac point, we observe conductance oscillations with the flux piercing the disk area $Φ_d$, characterized by the period $Φ_0=(2h/e)\ln(R_o/R_i)$, where $R_o$ ($R_i$) is the outer (inner) disk radius. The oscillations magnitude increase with the radii ratio and exceed 10% of the average conductance for $R_o/R_i\geqslant 5$ in the case of the normal Corbino setup, or for $R_o/R_i\geqslant 2.2$ in the case of the Andreev-Corbino setup. At a finite but weak doping, the oscillations still appear in a limited range of $|Φ_d|\leqslantΦ_d^{max}$, away from which the conductance is strongly suppressed. At large dopings and weak fields we identify the crossover to a normal ballistic transport regime.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Electron transport and quantum-dot energy levels in Z-shaped graphene nanoconstriction with zigzag edges

Motivated by recent advances in fabricating graphene nanostructures, we find that an electron can be trapped in Z-shaped graphene nanoconstriction with zigzag edges. The central section of the constriction operates as a single-level quantum dot, as the current flow towards the adjunct sections (rotated by 60 degree) is strongly suppressed due to mismatched valley polarization, although each section in isolation shows maximal quantum value of the conductance $G_0=2e^2/h$. We further show, that the trapping mechanism is insensitive to the details of constriction geometry, except from the case when widths of the two neighboring sections are equal. The relation with earlier studies of electron transport through symmetric and asymmetric kinks with zigzag edges is also established.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Conformal mapping and shot noise in graphene

Ballistic transport through a collection of quantum billiards in undoped graphene is studied analytically within the conformal mapping technique. The billiards show pseudodiffusive behavior, with the conductance equal to that of a classical conductor characterized by the conductivity $σ_0=4e^2/πh$, and the Fano factor $F=1/3$. By shrinking at least one of the billiard openings, we observe a tunneling behavior, where the conductance shows a power-law decay with the system size, and the shot noise is Poissonian (F=1). In the crossover region between tunneling and pseudodiffusive regimes, the conductance $G\approx (1-F)\times se^2/h$. The degeneracy $s=8$ for the Corbino disk, which preserves the full symmetry of the Dirac equation, $s=4$ for billiards bounded with smooth edges which break the symplectic symmetry, and $s=2$ when abrupt edges lead to strong intervalley scattering. An alternative, analytical or numerical technique, is utilized for each of the billiards to confirm the applicability of the conformal mapping for various boundary conditions.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Nonequilibrium valley polarization in graphene nanoconstrictions

We recently shown, using tight-binding calculations, that nonequilibrium valley polarization can be realized in graphene, when the current is injected through "valley filter": a ballistic point contact with zigzag edges. Here we demonstrate, that the effect is surprisingly robust against changing the crystallographic orientation of the filter axis. Namely, the output current remains polarized unless a point contact has perfect armchair edges, at which two subblattices are equally represented. The polarization is inverted when the filter orientation crosses the amchair line and, subsequently, dominating subblattice index of terminal atoms changes. In a bended graphene strip, the valley-polarized current can be directed towards one edge providing a theoretical possibility to observe a zero-magnetic-field analogue of the well-known Hall effect. For the valley valve, build of two valley filters in series and controlled elecrostatically by a gate voltage, the conductance-to-gate characteristic is inverted when $π/3$ vertex is placed between two filters.

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Diatomic molecule as a quantum entanglement switch

We investigate a pair entanglement of electrons in diatomic molecule, modeled as a correlated double quantum dot attached to the leads. The low-temperature properties are derived from the ground state obtained by utilizing the Rejec-Ramsak variational technique within the framework of EDABI method, which combines exact diagonalization with ab initio calculations. The results show, that single-particle basis renormalization modifies the entanglement-switch effectiveness significantly. We also found the entanglement signature of a competition between an extended Kondo and singlet phases.

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