arXiv subjects

M. O. Goerbig

Publications and source records attributed to M. O. Goerbig.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2013

Spin- and valley-dependent magneto-optical properties of MoS2

We investigate the behavior of low-energy electrons in two-dimensional molybdenum disulfide when submitted to an external magnetic field. Highly degenerate Landau levels form in the material, between which light-induced excitations are possible. The dependence of excitations on light polarization and energy is explicitly determined, and it is shown that it is possible to induce valley and spin polarization, i.e. to excite electrons of selected valley and spin. Whereas the effective low-energy model in terms of massive Dirac fermions yields dipole-type selection rules, higher-order band corrections allow for the observation of additional transitions. Furthermore, inter-Landau-level transitions involving the n=0 levels provide a reliable method for an experimental measurement of the gap and the spin-orbit gap of molybdenum disulfide.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Fractional quantum Hall states in charge-imbalanced bilayer systems

We study the fractional quantum Hall effect in a bilayer with charge-distribution imbalance induced, for instance, by a bias gate voltage. The bilayer can either be intrinsic or it can be formed spontaneously in wide quantum wells, due to the Coulomb repulsion between electrons. We focus on fractional quantum Hall effect in asymmetric bilayer systems at filling factor nu=4/11 and show that an asymmetric Halperin-like trial wavefunction gives a valid description of the ground state of the system.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2013

Magnetoplasmons in quasi-neutral epitaxial graphene nanoribbons

We present infrared transmission spectroscopy study of the inter-Landau-level excitations in quasi-neutral epitaxial graphene nanoribbon arrays. We observed a substantial deviation in energy of the $L_{0(-1)}$$\to$$L_{1(0)}$ transition from the characteristic square root magnetic-field dependence of two-dimensional graphene. This deviation arises from the formation of upper-hybrid mode between the Landau level transition and the plasmon resonance. In the quantum regime the hybrid mode exhibits a distinct dispersion relation, markedly different from that expected for conventional two-dimensional systems and highly doped graphene.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Evidence for the coexistence of Dirac and massive carriers in a-(BEDT-TTF)2I3 under hydrostatic pressure

Transport measurements were performed on the organic layered compound \aI3 under hydrostatic pressure. The carrier types, densities and mobilities are determined from the magneto-conductance of \aI3 . While evidence of high-mobility massless Dirac carriers has already been given, we report here, their coexistence with low-mobility massive holes. This coexistence seems robust as it has been found up to the highest studied pressure. Our results are in agreement with recent DFT calculations of the band structure of this system under hydrostatic pressure. A comparison with graphene Dirac carriers has also been done.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2013

Collisionless Hydrodynamics of Doped Graphene in a Magnetic Field

The electrodynamics of a two-dimensional gas of massless fermions in graphene is studied by a collisionless hydrodynamic approach. A low-energy dispersion relation for the collective modes (plasmons) is derived both in the absence and in the presence of a perpendicular magnetic field. The results for graphene are compared to those for a standard two-dimensional gas of massive electrons. We further compare the results within the classical hydrodynamic approach to the full quantum mechanical calculation in the random phase approximation. The low-energy dispersion relation is shown to be a good approximation at small wave vectors. The limitations of this approach at higher order is also discussed.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

d-wave superconductivity on the honeycomb bilayer

We introduce a microscopic model on the honeycomb bilayer, which in the small-momentum limit captures the usual (quadratic dispersion in kinetic term) description of bilayer graphene. In the limit of strong interlayer hopping it reduces to an effective honeycomb monolayer model with also third neighbor hopping. We study interaction effects in this effective model focusing on possible superconducting instabilities. We find d_{x^2-y^2} superconductivity in the strong coupling limit of an effective tJ-model-like description that gradually transforms into d + id time-reversal symmetry breaking superconductivity at weak couplings. In this limit the small momentum order parameter expansion is (k_x + i k_y)^2 [or (k_x - ik_y)^2] in both valleys of the effective low-energy description. The relevance of our model and investigation for the physics of bilayer graphene is also discussed.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

Theoretical Aspects of the Fractional Quantum Hall Effect in Graphene

We review the theoretical basis and understanding of electronic interactions in graphene Landau levels, in the limit of strong correlations. This limit occurs when inter-Landau-level excitations may be omitted because they belong to a high-energy sector, whereas the low-energy excitations only involve the same level, such that the kinetic energy (of the Landau level) is an unimportant constant. Two prominent effects emerge in this limit of strong electronic correlations: generalised quantum Hall ferromagnetic states that profit from the approximate four-fold spin-valley degeneracy of graphene's Landau levels and the fractional quantum Hall effect. Here, we discuss these effects in the framework of an SU(4)-symmetric theory, in comparison with available experimental observations.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

Merging and alignment of Dirac points in a shaken honeycomb optical lattice

Inspired by the recent creation of the honeycomb optical lattice and the realization of the Mott insulating state in a square lattice by shaking, we study here the shaken honeycomb optical lattice. For a periodic shaking of the lattice, a Floquet theory may be applied to derive a time-independent Hamiltonian. In this effective description, the hopping parameters are renormalized by a Bessel function, which depends on the shaking direction, amplitude and frequency. Consequently, the hopping parameters can vanish and even change sign, in an anisotropic manner, thus yielding different band structures. Here, we study the merging and the alignment of Dirac points and dimensional crossovers from the two dimensional system to one dimensional chains and zero dimensional dimers. We also consider next-nearest-neighbor hopping, which breaks the particle-hole symmetry and leads to a metallic phase when it becomes dominant over the nearest-neighbor hopping. Furthermore, we include weak repulsive on-site interactions and find the density profiles for different values of the hopping parameters and interactions, both in a homogeneous system and in the presence of a trapping potential. Our results may be experimentally observed by using momentum-resolved Raman spectroscopy.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2012

From Fractional Chern Insulators to a Fractional Quantum Spin Hall Effect

We investigate the algebraic structure of flat energy bands a partial filling of which may give rise to a fractional quantum anomalous Hall effect (or a fractional Chern insulator) and a fractional quantum spin Hall effect. Both effects arise in the case of a sufficiently flat energy band as well as a roughly flat and homogeneous Berry curvature, such that the global Chern number, which is a topological invariant, may be associated with a local non-commutative geometry. This geometry is similar to the more familiar situation of the fractional quantum Hall effect in two-dimensional electron systems in a strong magnetic field.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Electronic Properties of Graphene in a Strong Magnetic Field

We review the basic aspects of electrons in graphene (two-dimensional graphite) exposed to a strong perpendicular magnetic field. One of its most salient features is the relativistic quantum Hall effect the observation of which has been the experimental breakthrough in identifying pseudo-relativistic massless charge carriers as the low-energy excitations in graphene. The effect may be understood in terms of Landau quantization for massless Dirac fermions, which is also the theoretical basis for the understanding of more involved phenomena due to electronic interactions. We present the role of electron-electron interactions both in the weak-coupling limit, where the electron-hole excitations are determined by collective modes, and in the strong-coupling regime of partially filled relativistic Landau levels. In the latter limit, exotic ferromagnetic phases and incompressible quantum liquids are expected to be at the origin of recently observed (fractional) quantum Hall states. Furthermore, we discuss briefly the electron-phonon coupling in a strong magnetic field. Although the present review has a dominating theoretical character, a close connection with available experimental observation is intended.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Topologically Protected Zero Modes in Twisted Bilayer Graphene

We show that the twisted graphene bilayer can reveal unusual topological properties at low energies, as a consequence of a Dirac-point splitting. These features rely on a symmetry analysis of the electron hopping between the two layers of graphene and we derive a simplified effective low-energy Hamiltonian which captures the essential topological properties of twisted bilayer graphene. The corresponding Landau levels peculiarly reveal a degenerate zero-energy mode which cannot be lifted by strong magnetic fields.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Theoretical analysis of the density of states of graphene at high magnetic field using Haldane pseudopotentials

We study the density of states in graphene at high magnetic field, when the physics is dominated by strong correlations between electrons. In particular we use the method of Haldane pseudopotentials to focus on almost empty or almost filled Landau levels. We find that, besides the usual Landau level peaks, additional peaks ("sashes") appear in the spectrum. The energies of these peaks are determined by the strength of Haldane's pseudopotentials, but as opposed to the usual two-dimensional gas, when there is a one-to-one correspondence between a Haldane pseudopotential and a peak in the spectrum, the energy of each peak is determined in general by a combination of more than one pseudopotential values. An eventual measure of these peak in the density of states spectrum of graphene would allow one to determine the value of the pseudopotentials in graphene, and thus test the strength of the interactions in this system.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

The quantum Hall effect in graphene - a theoretical perspective

This short theoretical review deals with some essential ingredients for the understanding of the quantum Hall effect in graphene in comparison with the effect in conventional two-dimensional electron systems with a parabolic band dispersion. The main difference between the two systems stems from the "ultra-relativistic" character of the low-energy carriers in graphene, which are described in terms of a Dirac equation, as compared to the non-relativistic Schrödinger equation used for electrons with a parabolic band dispersion. In spite of this fundamental difference, the Hall resistance quantisation is universal in the sense that it is given in terms of the universal constant h/e^2 and an integer number, regardless of whether the charge carriers are characterised by Galilean or Lorentz invariance, for non-relativistic or relativistic carriers, respectively.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Theory of Bernstein Modes in Graphene

We present a theoretical description of Bernstein modes that arise as a result of the coupling between plasmon-like collective excitations (upper-hybrid mode) and inter-Landau-level excitations, in graphene in a perpendicular magnetic field. These modes, which are apparent as avoided level crossings in the spectral function obtained in the random-phase approximation, are described to great accuracy in a phenomenological model. Bernstein modes, which may be measured in inelastic light-scattering experiments or in photo-conductivity spectroscopy, are a manifestation of the Coulomb interaction between the electrons and may be used for a high-precision measurement of the upper-hybrid mode at small non-zero wave vectors.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2010

Spin-flip excitations, spin waves, and magneto-excitons in graphene Landau levels at integer filling factors

We study collective electronic excitations in graphene in the integer quantum Hall regime, concentrating mainly on excitations with spin reversal such as spin-flip and spin-wave excitations. We show that these excitations are correctly accounted for in the time-dependent Hartree-Fock and strong magnetic field approximations, in contrast to spin-conserving (magneto-exciton) modes which involve a strong Landau-level mixing at non-zero wave vectors. The collective excitations are discussed in view of prominent theorems, such as Kohn's and Larmor's. Whereas the latter remains valid in graphene and yields insight into the understanding of spin-dependent modes, Kohn's theorem does not apply to relativistic electrons in graphene. We finally calculate the exchange correction to the chemical potential in the weak magnetic field limit.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2010

Atypical Fractional Quantum Hall Effect in Graphene at Filling Factor 1/3

We study the recently observed graphene fractional quantum Hall state at a filling factor $ν_G=1/3$ using a four-component trial wave function and exact diagonalization calculations. Although it is adiabatically connected to a 1/3 Laughlin state in the upper spin branch, with SU(2) valley-isospin ferromagnetic ordering and a completely filled lower spin branch, it reveals physical properties beyond such a state that is the natural ground state for a large Zeeman effect. Most saliently, it possesses at experimentally relevant values of the Zeeman gap low-energy spin-flip excitations that may be unveiled in inelastic light-scattering experiments.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2010

Tunneling-driven breakdown of the 331 state and the emergent Pfaffian and composite Fermi liquid phases

We examine the possibility of creating the Moore-Read Pfaffian in the lowest Landau level when the multicomponent Halperin 331 state (believed to describe quantum Hall bilayers and wide quantum wells at the filling factor $ν=1/2$) is destroyed by the increase of tunneling. Using exact diagonalization of the bilayer Hamiltonian with short-range and long-range (Coulomb) interactions in spherical and periodic rectangular geometries, we establish that tunneling is a perturbation that drives the 331 state into a compressible composite Fermi liquid, with the possibility for an intermediate critical state that possesses some properties of the Moore-Read Pfaffian. These results are interpreted in the two-component BCS model for Cauchy pairing with a tunneling constraint. We comment on the conditions to be imposed on a system with fluctuating density in order to achieve the stable Pfaffian phase.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2010

Topological Berry phase and semiclassical quantization of cyclotron orbits for two dimensional electrons in coupled band models

The semiclassical quantization of cyclotron orbits for two-dimensional Bloch electrons in a coupled two band model with a particle-hole symmetric spectrum is considered. As concrete examples, we study graphene (both mono and bilayer) and boron nitride. The main focus is on wave effects -- such as Berry phase and Maslov index -- occurring at order $\hbar$ in the semiclassical quantization and producing non-trivial shifts in the resulting Landau levels. Specifically, we show that the index shift appearing in the Landau levels is related to a topological part of the Berry phase -- which is basically a winding number of the direction of the pseudo-spin 1/2 associated to the coupled bands -- acquired by an electron during a cyclotron orbit and not to the complete Berry phase, as commonly stated. As a consequence, the Landau levels of a coupled band insulator are shifted as compared to a usual band insulator. We also study in detail the Berry curvature in the whole Brillouin zone on a specific example (boron nitride) and show that its computation requires care in defining the "k-dependent Hamiltonian" H(k), where k is the Bloch wavevector.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗