arXiv subjects

Aires Ferreira

Publications and source records attributed to Aires Ferreira.

44 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

Covariant conservation laws and the spin Hall effect in Dirac-Rashba systems

We present a theoretical analysis of two-dimensional Dirac-Rashba systems in the presence of disorder and external perturbations. We unveil a set of exact symmetry relations (Ward identities) that impose strong constraints on the spin dynamics of Dirac fermions subject to proximity-induced interactions. This allows us to demonstrate that an arbitrary dilute concentration of scalar impurities results in the total suppression of nonequilibrium spin Hall currents when only Rashba spin-orbit coupling is present. Remarkably, a finite spin Hall conductivity is restored when the minimal Dirac-Rashba model is supplemented with a spin-valley interaction. The Ward identities provide a systematic way to predict the emergence of the spin Hall effect in a wider class of Dirac-Rashba systems of experimental relevance and represent an important benchmark for testing the validity of numerical methodologies.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Numerical calculation of the Casimir-Polder interaction between a graphene sheet with vacancies and an atom

In this work the Casimir{Polder interaction energy between a rubidium atom and a disordered graphene sheet is investigated beyond the Dirac cone approximation by means of accurate real-space calculations. As a model of defected graphene, we consider a tight-binding model of Π-electrons on a honeycomb lattice with a small concentration of point defects. The optical response of the graphene sheet is evaluated with full spectral resolution by means of exact Chebyshev polynomial expansions of the Kubo formula in large lattices with in excess of ten million atoms. At low temperatures, the optical response of defected graphene is found to display two qualitatively distinct behavior with a clear transition around non-zero Fermi energy, μ~μ*. In the vicinity of the Dirac point, the imaginary part of optical conductivity is negative for low frequencies while the real part is strongly suppressed. On the other hand, for high doping, it has the same features found in the Drude model within the Dirac cone approximation, namely, a Drude peak at small frequencies and a change of sign in the imaginary part above the interband threshold ω> 2μ. These characteristics translate into a non-monotonic behavior of the Casimir{Polder interaction energy with very small variation with doping in the vicinity of the neutrality point while having the same form of the interaction calculated with Drude's model at high electronic density.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Crossover to the Anomalous Quantum Regime in the Extrinsic Spin Hall Effect of Graphene

Recent reports of spin-orbit coupling enhancement in chemically modified graphene have opened doors to studies of the spin Hall effect with massless chiral fermions. Here, we theoretically investigate the interaction and impurity density dependence of the extrinsic spin Hall effect in spin-orbit coupled graphene. We present a nonperturbative quantum diagrammatic calculation of the spin Hall response function in the strong-coupling regime that incorporates skew scattering and anomalous impurity density-independent contributions on equal footing. The spin Hall conductivity dependence on Fermi energy and electron-impurity interaction strength reveals the existence of experimentally accessible regions where anomalous quantum processes dominate. Our findings suggest that spin-orbit-coupled graphene is an ideal model system for probing the competition between semiclassical and bona fide quantum scattering mechanisms underlying the spin Hall effect.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Quantum Diagrammatic Theory of the Extrinsic Spin Hall Effect in Graphene

We present a rigorous microscopic theory of the extrinsic spin Hall effect in disordered graphene based on a nonperturbative quantum diagrammatic treatment incorporating skew scattering and anomalous---impurity concentration-independent---quantum corrections on equal footing. The leading skew scattering contribution to the spin Hall conductivity is shown to quantitatively agree with Boltzmann transport theory over a wide range of parameters. Our self-consistent approach---where all topologically equivalent noncrossing diagrams are resummed---unveils that the skewness generated by spin--orbit-active impurities deeply influences the anomalous component of the spin Hall conductivity, even in the weak scattering regime. This seemingly counterintuitive result is explained by the rich sublattice structure of scattering potentials in graphene, for which traditional Gaussian disorder approximations fail to capture the intricate correlations between skew scattering and side jumps generated through diffusion. Finally, we assess the role of quantum interference corrections by evaluating an important subclass of crossing diagrams recently considered in the context of the anomalous Hall effect, the $X$ and $Ψ$ diagrams [Ado et al., EPL 111, 37004 (2015)]. We show that $Ψ$ diagrams---encoding quantum coherent skew scattering---display a strong Fermi energy dependence, dominating the anomalous spin Hall component away from the Dirac point. Our findings have direct implications for nonlocal transport experiments in spin--orbit-coupled graphene systems.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Electrically tunable resonant scattering in fluorinated bilayer graphene

Adatom-decorated graphene offers a promising new path towards spintronics in the ultrathin limit. We combine experiment and theory to investigate the electronic properties of dilutely fluorinated bilayer graphene, where the fluorine adatoms covalently bond to the top graphene layer. We show that fluorine adatoms give rise to resonant impurity states near the charge neutrality point of the bilayer, leading to strong scattering of charge carriers and hopping conduction inside a field-induced band gap. Remarkably, the application of an electric field across the layers is shown to tune the resonant scattering amplitude from fluorine adatoms by nearly twofold. The experimental observations are well explained by a theoretical analysis combining Boltzmann transport equations and fully quantum-mechanical methods. This paradigm can be generalized to many bilayer graphene-adatom materials, and we envision that the realization of electrically tunable resonance may be a key advantage in graphene-based spintronic devices.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Critical delocalization of chiral zero energy modes in graphene

Graphene subjected to chiral-symmetric disorder is believed to host zero energy modes (ZEMs) resilient to localization, as suggested by the renormalization group analysis of the underlying nonlinear sigma model. We report accurate quantum transport calculations in honeycomb lattices with in excess of $10^{9}$ sites and fine meV resolutions. The Kubo dc conductivity of ZEMs induced by vacancy defects (chiral BDI class) is found to match $4e^{2}/πh$ within 1% accuracy, over a parametrically wide window of energy level broadenings and vacancy concentrations. Our results disclose an unprecedentedly robust metallic regime in graphene, providing strong evidence that the early field-theoretical picture for the BDI class is valid well beyond its controlled weak-coupling regime.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Magnetic Oscillation of Optical Phonon in ABA- and ABC-Stacked Trilayer Graphene

We present a comparative measurement of the G-peak oscillations of phonon frequency, Raman intensity and linewidth in the Magneto-Raman scattering of optical E2g phonons in mechanically exfoliated ABA- and ABC-stacked trilayer graphene (TLG). Whereas in ABA-stacked TLG, we observe magnetophonon oscillations consistent with single-bilayer chiral band doublets, the features are flat for ABC-stacked TLG up to magnetic fields of 9 T. This suppression can be attributed to the enhancement of band chirality that compactifies the spectrum of Landau levels and modifies the magnetophonon resonance properties. The drastically different coupling behaviour between the electronic excitations and the E2g phonons in ABA- and ABC-stacked TLG reflects their different electronic band structures and the electronic Landau level transitions and thus can be another way to determine the stacking orders and to probe the stacking-order-dependent electronic structures. In addition, the sensitivity of the magneto-Raman scattering to the particular stacking order in few layers graphene highlights the important role of interlayer coupling in modifying the optical response properties in van der Waals layered materials.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2014

Scattering theory of spin-orbit active adatoms on graphene

The scattering of two-dimensional massless Dirac fermions from local spin-orbit interactions with an origin in dilute concentrations of physisorbed atomic species on graphene is theoretically investigated. The hybridization between graphene and the adatoms' orbitals lifts spin and valley degeneracies of the pristine host material, giving rise to rich spin-orbit coupling mechanisms with features determined by the exact adsorption position on the honeycomb lattice - bridge, hollow or top position - and the adatoms' outer-shell orbital type. Effective graphene-only Hamiltonians are derived from symmetry considerations, while a microscopic tight-binding approach connects effective low-energy couplings and graphene-adatom hybridization parameters. Within the $T$-matrix formalism, a theory for (spin-dependent) scattering events involving graphene's charge carriers, and the spin-orbit active adatoms is developed. Spin currents associated with intravalley and intervalley scattering are found to tend to oppose each other. We establish that under certain conditions, hollow-position adatoms give rise to the spin Hall effect, through skew scattering, while top-position adatoms induce transverse charge currents via trigonal potential scattering. We also identify the critical Fermi energy range where the spin Hall effect is dramatically enhanced, and the associated transverse spin currents can be reversed.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗