arXiv subjects

Leandro O. Nascimento

Publications and source records attributed to Leandro O. Nascimento.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

Dynamical Mass Generation in Pseudo Quantum Electrodynamics with Four-Fermion Interactions

We describe dynamical symmetry breaking in a system of massless Dirac fermions with both electromagnetic and four-fermion interactions in (2+1) dimensions. The former is described by the Pseudo Quantum Electrodynamics (PQED) and the latter is given by the so-called Gross-Neveu action. We apply the Hubbard-Stratonovich transformation and the large$-N_f$ expansion in our model to obtain a Yukawa action. Thereafter, the presence of a symmetry broken phase is inferred from the non-perturbative Schwinger-Dyson equation for the electron propagator. This is the physical solution whenever the fine-structure constant is larger than a critical value $α_c(D N_f)$. In particular, we obtain the critical coupling constant $α_c\approx 0.36$ for $D N_f=8$., where $D=2,4$ corresponds to the SU(2) and SU(4) cases, respectively, and $N_f$ is the flavor number. Our results show a decreasing of the critical coupling constant in comparison with the case of pure electromagnetic interaction, thus yielding a more favorable scenario for the occurrence of dynamical symmetry breaking. For two-dimensional materials,in application in condensed matter systems, it implies an energy gap at the Dirac points or valleys of the honeycomb lattice.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Emerging Quantum Hall Effect in Massive Dirac Systems

An interaction-driven nonzero quantum Hall conductivity is shown to occur in time-reversal symmetric massive Dirac materials, in the absence of any external agent. The effect is produced through the dynamical breakdown of time-reversal symmetry, which is generated by quantum fluctuations, when the full dynamical electromagnetic interaction among the electrons is taken into account. The manifestation of this emergent parity anomaly should be observed in materials such as silicene, stanene, germanene and transition metal dichalcogenides, at low enough temperatures.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Introduction to Topological Phases and Electronic Interactions in (2+1) Dimensions

A brief introduction to topological phases is provided, considering several two-band Hamiltonians in one- and two-dimensions. Relevant concepts of the topological insulator theory, such as: Berry phase, Chern number, and the quantum adiabatic theorem, are reviewed in a basic framework, which is meant to be accessible to non-specialists. We discuss the Kitaev chain, SSH, and BHZ models. The role of the electromagnetic interaction in the topological insulator theory is addressed in the light of the Pseudo quantum electrodynamics (PQED). The well known parity anomaly for massless Dirac particle is reviewed in terms of the Chern number. Within the continuum limit, a half-quantized Hall conductivity is obtained. Thereafter, by considering the lattice regularization of the Dirac theory, we show how one may obtain the well known quantum Hall conductivity for a single Dirac cone. The renormalization of the electron energy spectrum, for both small and large coupling regime, is derived. In particular, it is shown that massless Dirac particles may, only in the strong correlated limit, break either chiral or parity symmetries. For graphene, this implies the generation of Landau-like energy levels and the quantum valley Hall effect.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2015

Chiral-Symmetry Breaking in Pseudo Quantum Electrodynamics at Finite Temperature

We use the Schwinger-Dyson equations in the presence of a thermal bath, in order to study chiral symmetry breaking in a system of massless Dirac fermions interacting through pseudo quantum electrodynamics (PQED3), in (2+1) dimensions. We show that there is a critical temperature $T_c$, below which chiral symmetry is broken, and a corresponding mass gap is dynamically generated, provided the coupling is above a certain, temperature dependent, critical value $α_c$. The ratio between the energy gap and the critical temperature for this model is estimated to be $2 π$. These results are confirmed by analytical and numerical investigations of the Schwinger-Dyson equation for the electron. In addition, we calculate the first finite-temperature corrections to the static Coulomb interaction. The relevance of this result in the realm of condensed matter systems, like graphene, is briefly discussed.

hep-th↗

arXiv2014

Unitarity of theories containing fractional powers of the d'Alembertian operator

We examine the unitarity of a class of generalized Maxwell U(1) gauge theories in (2+1) D containing the pseudodifferential operator $\Box^{1-α}$, for $α\in [0,1)$. We show that only Quantum Electrodynamics (QED$_3$) and its generalization known as Pseudo Quantum Electrodynamics (PQED), for which $α=0$ and $α= 1/2$, respectively, satisfy unitarity. The latter plays an important role in the description of the electromagnetic interactions of charged particles confined to a plane, such as in graphene or in hetero-junctions displaying the quantum Hall effect.

hep-th↗

arXiv2014

Interaction Induced Quantum Valley Hall Effect in Graphene

We use Pseudo Quantum Electrodynamics (PQED) in order to describe the full electromagnetic interaction of the p-electrons of graphene in a consistent 2D formulation. We first consider the effect of this interaction in the vacuum polarization tensor or, equivalently, in the current correlator. This allows us to obtain the dc conductivity after a smooth zero-frequency limit is taken in Kubo's formula.Thereby, we obtain the usual expression for the minimal conductivity plus corrections due to the interaction that bring it closer to the experimental value. We then predict the onset of an interaction-driven spontaneous Quantum Valley Hall effect (QVHE) below a critical temperature of the order of $0.05$ K. The transverse (Hall) valley conductivity is evaluated exactly and shown to coincide with the one in the usual Quantum Hall effect. Finally, by considering the effects of PQED, we show that the electron self-energy is such that a set of P- and T- symmetric gapped electron energy eigenstates are dynamically generated, in association with the QVHE.

cond-mat.str-el↗