Abstract: We study the electronic properties of commensurate faulted bilayer graphene by diagonalizing the one-particle Hamiltonian of the bilayer system in a complete basis of Bloch states of the individual graphene layers. Our novel approach is very general and can be easily extended to any commensurate graphene-based heterostructure. Here, we consider three cases: (i) twisted bilayer graphene, (ii) bilayer graphene where triaxial stress is applied to one layer and (iii) bilayer graphene where uniaxial stress is applied to one layer. We show that the resulting superstructures can be divided into distinct classes, depending on the twist angle or the magnitude of the induced strain. The different classes are distinguished from each other by the interlayer coupling mechanism, resulting in fundamentally different low-energy physics. For the cases of triaxial and uniaxial stress, the individual graphene layers tend to decouple and we find significant charge transfer between the layers. In addition, this piezoelectric effect can be tuned by applying a perpendicular electric field. Finally, we show how our approach can be generalized to multilayer systems.

Abstract: Dirac plasmons in graphene hybridize with phonons of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) when the materials are combined in so-called van der Waals heterostructures (vdWh), thus forming surface plasmon-phonon polaritons (SPPPs). The extend to which these modes are coupled depends on the TMD composition and structure, but also on the plasmons' properties. By performing realistic simulations that account for the contribution of each layer of the vdWh separately, we calculate how the strength of plasmon-phonon coupling depends on the number and composition of TMD layers, on the graphene Fermi energy and the specific phonon mode. From this, we present a semiclassical theory that is capable of capturing all relevant characteristics of the SPPPs. We find that it is possible to realize both strong and ultra-strong coupling regimes by tuning graphene's Fermi energy and changing TMD layer number.

Abstract: Due to Klein tunneling, electrostatic confinement of electrons in graphene is not possible. This hinders the use of graphene for quantum dot applications. Only through quasi-bound states with finite lifetime has one achieved to confine charge carriers. Here, we propose that bilayer graphene with a local region of decoupled graphene layers is able to generate bound states under the application of an electrostatic gate. The discrete energy levels in such a quantum blister correspond to localized electron and hole states in the top and bottom layers. We find that this layer localization and the energy spectrum itself are tunable by a global electrostatic gate and that the latter also coincides with the electronic modes in a graphene disk. Curiously, states with energy close to the continuum exist primarily in the classically forbidden region outside the domain defining the blister. The results are robust against variations in size and shape of the blister which shows that it is a versatile system to achieve tunable electrostatic confinement in graphene. Published by AIP Publishing.

Abstract: Charge carriers in single and multilayered graphene systems behave as chiral particles due to the particular lattice symmetry of the crystal. We show that the interplay between the meta-material properties of graphene multilayers and the pseudospinorial properties of the charge carriers result in the occurrence of Klein and anti-Klein tunneling for rhombohedral stacked multilayers. We derive an algebraic formula predicting the angles at which these phenomena occur and support this with numerical calculations for systems up to four layers. We present a decomposition of an arbitrarily stacked multilayer into pseudospin doublets that have the same properties as rhombohedral systems with a lower number of layers. Copyright (C) EPLA, 2013

Abstract: When monolayer (ML) MoS2 is placed on a substrate, the proximity-induced interactions such as the Rashba spin-orbit coupling (RSOC) and exchange interaction (EI) can be introduced. Thus, the electronic system can behave like a spintronic device. In this study, we present a theoretical study on how the presence of the RSCO and EI can lead to the band splitting, the lifting of the valley degeneracy and to the spin polarization in n- and p-type ML MoS2. We find that the maxima of the in-plane spin orientation in the conduction and valence bands in ML MoS2 depend on the Rashba parameter and the effective Zeeman field factor. At a fixed Rashba parameter, the minima of the split conduction band and the maxima of the split valence band along with the spin polarization in ML MoS2 can be tuned effectively by varying the effective Zeeman field factor. On the basis that the EI can be induced by placing the ML MoS2 on a ferromagnetic substrate or by magnetic doping in ML MoS2, we predict that the interesting spintronic effects can be observed in n- and p-type ML MoS2. This work can be helpful to gain an in-depth understanding of the basic physical properties of ML MoS2 for application in advanced electronic and optoelectronic devices.

Abstract: Bilayer graphene can exhibit deformations such that the two graphene sheets are locally detached from each other resulting in a structure consisting of domains with different van der Waals inter-layer coupling. Here we investigate how the presence of these domains affects the transport properties of bilayer graphene. We derive analytical expressions for the transmission probability, and the corresponding conductance, across walls separating different inter-layer coupling domains. We find that the transmission can exhibit a valley-dependent layer asymmetry and that the domain walls have a considerable effect on the chiral tunnelling properties of the charge carriers. We show that transport measurements allow one to obtain the strength with which the two layers are coupled. We perform numerical calculations for systems with two domain walls and find that the availability of multiple transport channels in bilayer graphene significantly modifies the conductance dependence on inter-layer potential asymmetry.

Abstract: The time evolution of a low-energy two-dimensional Gaussian wave packet in ABC-stacked n-layer graphene (ABC-NLG) is investigated. Expectation values of the position (x, y) of center-of-mass and the total probability densities of the wave packet are calculated analytically using the Green's function method. These results are confirmed using an alternative numerical method based on the split-operator technique within the Dirac approach for ABC-NLG, which additionally allows to include external fields and potentials. The main features of the zitterbewegung (trembling motion) of wave packets in graphene are demonstrated and are found to depend not only on the wave packet width and initial pseudospin polarization, but also on the number of layers. Moreover, the analytical and numerical methods proposed here allow to investigate wave packet dynamics in graphene systems with an arbitrary number of layers and arbitrary potential landscapes.

Abstract: When a condensate is sheared by imparting a velocity to a part of the condensate, phase singularities must appear at the interface between the region that is still at rest and the region that has acquired a velocity. For helium, Feynman argued that these phase singularies will arrange themselves in the form of a vortex row. BoseEinstein condensates of ultracold atomic gases differ from helium in that the healing length is generally much larger and is, in fact, tunable. Another difference is that multicomponent condensates can be created, where the two components forming the mixture are usually two different hyperfine states of the condensed atoms. These two components can be manipulated separately and can be interconverted. In this contribution, we investigate how these additional degrees of freedom, available in quantum gases, change what happens in sheared condensates. In particular, we consider skyrmion rows as an alternative to vortex rows, and we also consider phase slip lines filled with the second, unmoving component, in a condensate mixture. We show that depending on the ratios of the interaction strengths between the components, and depending on the shear velocity, skyrmion rows and phase slip lines can become lower in energy than vortex rows, and hence should be observable in quantum gases. Moreover, we find that the velocity field affects the stability region of the condensate with respect to phase separation.

Abstract: The electronic tunneling properties of the two stable forms of trilayer graphene (TLG), rhombohedral ABC and Bernal ABA, are examined for p-n and p-n-p junctions as realized by using a single gate (SG) or a double gate (DG). For the rhombohedral form, due to the chirality of the electrons, the Klein paradox is found at normal incidence for SG devices, while at high-energy interband scattering between additional propagation modes can occur. The electrons in Bernal ABA TLG can have a monolayer- or bilayer-like character when incident on a SG device. Using a DG, however, both propagation modes will couple by breaking the mirror symmetry of the system, which induces intermode scattering and resonances that depend on the width of the DG p-n-p junction. For ABC TLG the DG opens up a band gap which suppresses Klein tunneling. The DG induces also an unexpected asymmetry in the tunneling angle for single-valley electrons.

Abstract: The thermodynamic properties of the electron gas in multilayer graphene depend strongly on the number of layers and the type of stacking. Here we analyze how those properties change when we vary the number of layers for rhombohedral stacked multilayer graphene and compare our results with those from a conventional two-dimensional electron gas. We show that the highly degenerate zero-energy Landau level which is partly filled with electrons and partly with holes has a strong influence on the values of the different thermodynamic quantities.

Abstract: The interaction between electrons and plasmons in trilayer graphene is investigated within the Overhauser approach resulting in the “plasmaron” quasiparticle. This interaction is cast into a field theoretical problem, and its effect on the energy spectrum is calculated using improved Wigner-Brillouin perturbation theory. The plasmaron spectrum is shifted with respect to the bare electron spectrum by ΔE(k)∼150−200meV for ABC stacked trilayer graphene and for ABA trilayer graphene by ΔE(k)∼30−150 meV[ ΔE(k) ∼1 −5meV] for the hyperbolic (linear) part of the spectrum. The shift in general increases with the electron concentration and electron momentum. The dispersion of plasmarons is more pronounced in ABC stacked than in ABA stacked trilayer graphene, because of the different energy band structure and their different plasmon dispersion.

Abstract: In a recent paper [Phys. Rev. B 89, 125418 (2014)], the authors argue that it is possible to map the electronic properties of twisted bilayer graphene to those of bilayer graphene in an in-plane magnetic field. However, their description of the low-energy dynamics of twisted bilayer graphene is restricted to the extended zone scheme and therefore neglects the effects of the superperiodic structure. If the energy spectrum is studied in the supercell Brillouin zone, we find that the comparison with an in-plane magnetic field fails because (i) the energy spectra of the two situations exhibit different symmetries and (ii) the low-energy spectra are very different.

Abstract: A strong in-plane magnetic field drastically alters the low-energy spectrum of bilayer graphene by separating the parabolic energy dispersion into two linear Dirac cones. The effect of this dramatic change on the transport properties strongly depends on the orientation of the in-plane magnetic field with respect to the propagation direction of the charge carriers and the angle at which they impinge on the electrostatic potentials. For magnetic fields oriented parallel to the potential boundaries an additional propagating mode that results from the splitting into Dirac cones enhances the transmission probability for charge carriers tunneling through the potentials and increases the corresponding conductance. Our results show that the chiral suppression of transmission at normal incidence, reminiscent of bilayer graphene's 2 pi Berry phase, is turned into a chiral enhancement when the magnetic field increases, thus indicating a transition from a bilayer to a monolayer-like system at normal incidence. Further, we find that the typical transmission resonances stemming from confinement in a potential barrier are shifted to higher energy and are eventually transformed into antiresonances with increasing magnetic field. For magnetic fields oriented perpendicular to the potential boundaries we find a very pronounced transition from a bilayer system to two separated monolayer-like systems with Klein tunneling emerging at certain incident angles symmetric around 0, which also leaves a signature in the conductance. For both orientations of the magnetic field, the transmission probability is still correctly described by pseudospin conservation. Finally, to motivate the large in-plane magnetic field, we show that its energy spectrum can be mimicked by specific lattice deformations such as a relative shift of one of the layers. With this equivalence we introduce the notion of an in-plane pseudomagnetic field.

Abstract: By making use of circularly polarized light and electrostatic gating, monolayer molybdenum disulfide (ML – MoS2) can form a platform supporting multiple types of charge carriers. They can be discriminated by their spin, valley index, or whether they are electrons or holes. We investigate the collective properties of those charge carriers and are able to identify distinct plasmon modes. We analyze the corresponding dispersion relation, lifetime, and oscillator strength, and calculate the phase relation between the oscillations in the different components of the plasmon modes. All platforms in ML-MoS2 support a long-wavelength root q plasmon branch at zero kelvins. In addition to this, for an n-component system, n-1 distinct plasmon modes appear as acoustic modes with linear dispersion in the long-wavelength limit. These modes correspond to out-of-phase oscillations in the different fermion liquids and have, although being damped, a relatively long lifetime. Additionally, we also find distinct modes at large wave vectors that are more strongly damped by intraband processes.