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We report an unconventional quantum spin Hall phase in the monolayer T$_\text{d}$-WTe$_2$, which exhibits hitherto unknown features in other topological materials. The low-symmetry of the structure induces a canted spin texture in the $yz$ plane, which dictates the spin polarization of topologically protected boundary states. Additionally, the spin Hall conductivity gets quantized ($2e^2/h$) with a spin quantization axis parallel to the canting direction. These findings are based on large-scale quantum simulations of the spin Hall conductivity tensor and nonlocal resistances in multi-probe geometries using a realistic tight-binding model elaborated from first-principle methods. The observation of this canted quantum spin Hall effect, related to the formation of topological edge states with nontrivial spin polarization, demands for specific experimental design and suggests interesting alternatives for manipulating spin information in topological materials., Comment: For comments please contact josehugo.garcia@icn2.cat

The spin polarization induced by the spin Hall effect (SHE) in thin films typically points out of the plane. This is rooted on the specific symmetries of traditionally studied systems, not in a fundamental constraint. Recently, experiments on few-layer ${\rm MoTe}_2$ and ${\rm WTe}_2$ showed that the reduced symmetry of these strong spin-orbit coupling materials enables a new form of {\it canted} spin Hall effect, characterized by concurrent in-plane and out-of-plane spin polarizations. Here, through quantum transport calculations on realistic device geometries, including disorder, we predict a very large gate-tunable SHE figure of merit $\lambda_s\theta_{xy}\sim 1\text{--}50$ nm in ${\rm MoTe}_2$ and ${\rm WTe}_2$ monolayers that significantly exceeds values of conventional SHE materials. This stems from a concurrent long spin diffusion length ($\lambda_s$) and charge-to-spin interconversion efficiency as large as $\theta_{xy} \approx 80$\%, originating from momentum-invariant (persistent) spin textures together with large spin Berry curvature along the Fermi contour, respectively. Generalization to other materials and specific guidelines for unambiguous experimental confirmation are proposed, paving the way towards exploiting such phenomena in spintronic devices. These findings vividly emphasize how crystal symmetry and electronic topology can govern the intrinsic SHE and spin relaxation, and how they may be exploited to broaden the range and efficiency of spintronic materials and functionalities., Comment: Published version, Phys. Rev. Reserach

We explore in detail the electronic phases of a system consisting of three non-colinear arrays of coupled quantum wires, each rotated 120 degrees with respect to the next. A perturbative renormalization-group analysis reveals that multiple correlated states can be stabilized: a $s$-wave or $d \pm id$ superconductor, a charge density wave insulator, a two-dimensional Fermi liquid, and a 2D Luttinger liquid (also known as smectic metal or sliding Luttinger liquid). The model provides an effective description of electronic interactions in small-angle twisted bilayer graphene and we discuss its implications in relation to the recent observation of correlated and superconducting groundstates near commensurate densities in magic-angle twisted samples, as well as the ``strange metal'' behavior at finite temperatures as a natural outcome of the 2D Luttinger liquid phase.

Recent theoretical advances have proposed a new class of topological crystalline insulator (TCI) phases protected by rotational symmetries. Distinct from topological insulators (TIs), rotational symmetry-protected TCIs are expected to show unique topologically protected boundary modes: First, the surface normal to the rotational axis features unpinned Dirac surface states whose Dirac points are located at generic k points. Second, due to the higher-order bulk boundary correspondence, a 3D TCI also supports 1D helical edge states. Despite the unique topological electronic properties, to date, purely rotational symmetry-protected TCIs remain elusive in real materials. Using first-principles band calculations and theoretical modeling, we identify the van der Waals material $\alpha$-Bi4Br4 as a TCI purely protected by rotation symmetry. We show that the Bi4Br4's (010) surface exhibits a pair of unpinned topological Dirac fermions protected by the two-fold rotational axis. These unpinned Dirac fermions show an exotic spin texture highly favorable for spin transport and a band structure consisting of van Hove singularities due to Lifshitz transition. We also identify 1D topological hinge states along the edges of an $\alpha$-Bi4Br4 rod. We further discuss how the proposed topological electronic properties in $\alpha$-Bi4Br4 can be observed by various experimental techniques.

The nature of Fermi surface defines the physical properties of conductors and many physical phenomena can be traced to its shape. Although the recent discovery of a current-dependent nonlinear magnetoresistance in spin-polarized non-magnetic materials has attracted considerable attention in spintronics, correlations between this phenomenon and the underlying fermiology remain unexplored. Here, we report the observation of nonlinear magnetoresistance at room temperature in a semimetal WTe2, with an interesting temperature-driven inversion. Theoretical calculations reproduce the nonlinear transport measurements and allow us to attribute the inversion to temperature-induced changes in Fermi surface convexity. We also report a large anisotropy of nonlinear magnetoresistance in WTe2, due to its low symmetry of Fermi surfaces. The good agreement between experiments and theoretical modeling reveals the critical role of Fermi surface topology and convexity on the nonlinear magneto-response. These results lay a new path to explore ramifications of distinct fermiology for nonlinear transport in condensed-matter.

The photon-like electronic dispersion of graphene bestows its charge carriers with unusual confinement properties that depend strongly on the geometry and strength of the surrounding potential. Here we report bottom-up synthesis of atomically-precise one-dimensional (1D) arrays of point charges aimed at exploring supercritical confinement of carriers in graphene for new geometries. The arrays were synthesized by arranging F4TCNQ molecules into a 1D lattice on back-gated graphene devices, allowing precise tuning of both the molecular charge state and the array periodicity. Dilute arrays of ionized F4TCNQ molecules are seen to behave like isolated subcritical charges but dense arrays show emergent supercriticality. In contrast to compact supercritical clusters, extended 1D charge arrays exhibit both supercritical and subcritical characteristics and belong to a new physical regime termed frustrated supercritical collapse. Here carriers in the far-field are attracted by a supercritical charge distribution, but have their fall to the center frustrated by subcritical potentials in the near-field, similar to the trapping of light by a dense cluster of stars in general relativity.

In relation to our original paper [M. Droth et al., Phys. Rev. B 94, 075404 (2016)], the Comment by Li et al. [Phys. Rev. B 98, 167403 (2018)] claims to have identified a "mistake in constructing the adiabatic process of the piezoelectricity". More specifically, they write that in our original work "the erroneous usage of the polarization difference formula in Eq. (4) leads to an invalid analytical expression of piezoelectric constant in Eq. (12) of Reference 1". We explain below why these and other minor claims in the Comment are unwarranted, and why we maintain that our result is correct and physically sound., Comment: 4 pages manuscript + 8 pages supplemental material

We introduce a McMillan-Ginzburg-Landau theory to describe the cooperative coexistence of charge-density and superconducting order in two-dimensional crystals. With a free-energy that explicitly accounts for the competition between commensurate and incommensurate ground states, we are able to map the transition between these phases and monitor the development of discommensurations in the near-commensurate regime. Attributing the enhancement of superconducting order to density-wave fluctuations, we propose a coupling scheme that yields a phase diagram in qualitative agreement with experiments in conducting transition metal dichalcogenides. The model predicts the development of non-uniform superconductivity similar to that arising from a pair-density wave, with a spatial texture driven by the underlying charge-density wave fluctuations.

We investigate the excitonic spectrum of MoS$_2$ monolayers and calculate its optical absorption properties over a wide range of energies. Our approach takes into account the anomalous screening in two dimensions and the presence of a substrate, both cast by a suitable effective Keldysh potential. We solve the Bethe-Salpeter equation using as a basis a Slater-Koster tight-binding model parameterized to fit ab initio MoS$_2$ band structure calculations. The resulting optical conductivity is in good quantitative agreement with existing measurements up to ultraviolet energies. We establish that the electronic contributions to the C excitons arise not from states in the vicinity of the $\Gamma$ point, but from a set of $k$-points over extended portions of the Brillouin zone. Our results reinforce the advantages of approaches based on effective models to expeditiously explore the properties and tunability of excitons in TMD systems., Comment: Published version, 16 pages, 10 figures

Recent experiments suggest that excitonic degrees of freedom play an important role in precipitating the charge density wave (CDW) transition in $1T$-$\mathrm{TiSe}_2$. Through systematic calculations of the electronic and phonon spectrum based on density functional perturbation theory, we show that the predicted critical doping of the CDW phase overshoots the experimental value by 1 order of magnitude. In contrast, an independent self-consistent many-body calculation of the excitonic order parameter and renormalized band structure is able to capture the experimental phase diagram in extremely good qualitative and quantitative agreement. This demonstrates that electron-electron interactions and the excitonic instability arising from direct electron-hole coupling are pivotal to accurately describe the nature of the CDW in this system. This has important implications to understand the emergence of superconductivity within the CDW phase of this and related systems.

Valley polarization (VP), an induced imbalance in the populations of a multi-valley electronic system, allows emission of second harmonic (SH) light even in centrosymmetric crystals such as graphene. Whereas in systems such as MoS$\mathrm{_2}$ or BN this adds to their intrinsic quadratic response, SH generation in a multi-valley inversion-symmetric crystal can provide a direct measure of valley polarization. By computing the nonlinear response and characterizing theoretically the respective SH as a function of polarization, temperature, electron density, and degree of VP, we demonstrate the possibility of disentangling and individually quantifying the intrinsic and valley contributions to the SH. A specific experimental setup is proposed to obtain direct quantitative information about the degree of VP and allow its remote mapping. This approach could prove useful for direct, contactless, real-space monitoring of valley injection and other applications of valley transport and valleytronics., Comment: Updating with published version, including typesetting corrections to eqs 3 and 4; 7 pages, 5 figures

Charge density wave (CDW) phases are symmetry-reduced states of matter in which a periodic modulation of the electronic charge frequently leads to drastic changes of the electronic spectrum, including the emergence of energy gaps. We analyze the CDW state in a 1T-TiSe$_2$ monolayer within a density functional theory framework and show that, similarly to its bulk counterpart, the monolayer is unstable towards a commensurate $2{\times}2$ periodic lattice distortion (PLD) and CDW at low temperatures. Analysis of the electron and phonon spectrum establishes the PLD as the stable $T=0$ K configuration with a narrow bandgap, whereas the undistorted and semi-metalic state is stable only above a threshold temperature. The lattice distortions as well as the unfolded and reconstructed band structure in the CDW phase agree well with experimental results. We also address evidence in our results for the role of electron-electron interactions in the CDW instability of 1T-TiSe$_2$ monolayers., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures

The extreme mechanical resilience of graphene and the peculiar coupling it hosts between lattice and electronic degrees of freedom have spawned a strong impetus towards strain-engineered graphene where, on the one hand, strain augments the richness of its phenomenology and makes possible new concepts for electronic devices and, on the other hand, new and extreme physics might take place. Here, we demonstrate that the shape of substrates supporting graphene sheets can be optimized for approachable experiments where strain-induced pseudomagnetic fields (PMF) can be tailored by pressure for directionally selective electronic transmission and pinching-off of current flow down to the quantum channel limit. The Corbino-type layout explored here furthermore allows filtering of charge carriers according to valley and current direction, which can be used to inject or collect valley-polarized currents, thus realizing one of the basic elements required for valleytronics. Our results are based on a framework developed to realistically determine the combination of strain, external parameters, and geometry optimally compatible with the target spatial profile of a desired physical property --- the PMF in this case. Characteristic conductance profiles are analyzed through quantum transport calculations on large graphene devices having the optimal shape., Comment: 5+7 figures. Supporting information included

Bottom-up fabrication of graphene antidot lattices (GALs) has previously yielded atomically precise structures with sub-nanometer periodicity. Focusing on this type of experimentally realized GAL, we perform density functional theory calculations on the pristine structure as well as GALs with edge carbon atoms substituted with boron or nitrogen. We show that p- and n-type doping levels emerge with activation energies that depend on the level of hydrogenation at the impurity. Furthermore, a tight-binding parameterization together with a Green's function method are used to describe more dilute doping., Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures

DC photoelectrical currents can be generated purely as a non-linear effect in uniform media lacking inversion symmetry without the need for a material junction or bias voltages to drive it, in what is termed photogalvanic effect. These currents are strongly dependent on the polarization state of the radiation, as well as on topological properties of the underlying Fermi surface such as its Berry curvature. In order to study the intrinsic photogalvanic response of gapped graphene (GG), biased bilayer graphene (BBG), and hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), we compute the non-linear current using a perturbative expansion of the density matrix. This allows a microscopic description of the quadratic response to an electromagnetic field in these materials, which we analyze as a function of temperature and electron density. We find that the intrinsic response is robust across these systems and allows for currents in the range of pA cm/W to nA cm/W. At the independent-particle level, the response of hBN-based structures is significant only in the ultra-violet due to their sizeable band-gap. However, when Coulomb interactions are accounted for by explicit solution of the Bethe-Salpeter equation, we find that the photoconductivity is strongly modified by transitions involving exciton levels in the gap region, whose spectral weight dominates in the overall frequency range. Biased bilayers and gapped monolayers of graphene have a strong photoconductivity in the visible and infrared window, allowing for photocurrent densities of several nA cm/W. We further show that the richer electronic dispersion of BBG at low energies and the ability to change its band-gap on demand allows a higher tunability of the photocurrent, including not only its magnitude but also, and significantly, its polarity., Comment: Updating with published version and respective references; 14 pages, 11 figures

The quantum transport properties of a graphene kirigami similar to those studied in recent experiments are calculated in the regime of elastic, reversible deformations. Our results show that, at low electronic densities, the conductance profile of such structures replicates that of a system of coupled quantum dots, characterized by a sequence of minibands and stop-gaps. The conductance and I-V curves have different characteristics in the distinct stages of elastic deformation that characterize the elongation of these structures. Notably, the effective coupling between localized states is strongly reduced in the small elongation stage, whereas in the large elongation regime the development of strong, localized pseudomagnetic field barriers can reinforce the coupling and reestablish resonant tunneling across the kirigami. This provides an interesting example of interplay between geometry and pseudomagnetic field-induced confinement. The alternating miniband and stop-gaps in the transmission lead to I-V characteristics with negative differential conductance in well defined energy/doping ranges. These effects should be stable in a realistic scenario that includes edge roughness and Coulomb interactions, as these are expected to further promote localization of states at low energies in narrow segments of graphene nanostructures., Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures

Due to their low surface mass density, two-dimensional materials with a strong piezoelectric response are interesting for nanoelectromechanical systems with high force sensitivity. Unlike graphene, the two sublattices in a monolayer of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) are occupied by different elements, which breaks inversion symmetry and allows for piezoelectricity. This has been confirmed with density functional theory calculations of the piezoelectric constant of hBN. Here, we formulate an entirely analytical derivation of the electronic contribution to the piezoelectric response in this system based on the concepts of strain-induced pseudomagnetic vector potential and the modern theory of polarization that relates the polar moment to the Berry curvature. Our findings agree with the symmetry restrictions expected for the hBN lattice and reproduce well the magnitude of the piezoelectric effect previously obtained ab-initio., Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure

We investigate the impact of strained nanobubbles on the conductance characteristics of graphene nanoribbons using a combined molecular dynamics - tight-binding simulation scheme. We describe in detail how the conductance, density of states, and current density of zigzag or armchair graphene nanoribbons are modified by the presence of a nanobubble. In particular, we establish that low-energy electrons can be confined in the vicinity or within the nanobubbles by the delicate interplay between the pseudomagnetic field pattern created by the shape of the bubble, mode mixing, and substrate interaction. The coupling between confined evanescent states and propagating modes can be enhanced under different clamping conditions, which translates into Fano resonances in the conductance traces., Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures

One of the enticing features common to most of the two-dimensional electronic systems that are currently at the forefront of materials science research is the ability to easily introduce a combination of planar deformations and bending in the system. Since the electronic properties are ultimately determined by the details of atomic orbital overlap, such mechanical manipulations translate into modified electronic properties. Here, we present a general-purpose optimization framework for tailoring physical properties of two-dimensional electronic systems by manipulating the state of local strain, allowing a one-step route from their design to experimental implementation. A definite example, chosen for its relevance in light of current experiments in graphene nanostructures, is the optimization of the experimental parameters that generate a prescribed spatial profile of pseudomagnetic fields in graphene. But the method is general enough to accommodate a multitude of possible experimental parameters and conditions whereby deformations can be imparted to the graphene lattice, and complies, by design, with graphene's elastic equilibrium and elastic compatibility constraints. As a result, it efficiently answers the inverse problem of determining the optimal values of a set of external or control parameters that result in a graphene deformation whose associated pseudomagnetic field profile best matches a prescribed target. The ability to address this inverse problem in an expedited way is one key step for practical implementations of the concept of two-dimensional systems with electronic properties strain-engineered to order. The general-purpose nature of this calculation strategy means that it can be easily applied to the optimization of other relevant physical quantities which directly depend on the local strain field, not just in graphene but in other two-dimensional electronic membranes., Comment: 37 pages, 9 figures. This submission contains low-resolution bitmap images; high-resolution images can be found in version 1, which is ~13.5 MB

Analysis of the strain-induced pseudomagnetic fields (PMFs) generated in graphene nanobulges under three different substrate scenarios shows that, in addition to the shape, the graphene-substrate interaction can crucially determine the overall distribution and magnitude of strain and those fields, in and outside the bulge. We utilize a combination of classical molecular dynamics, continuum mechanics, and tight-binding electronic structure calculations as an unbiased means of studying pressure-induced deformations and the resulting PMF in graphene nanobubbles of various geometries. The interplay among substrate aperture geometry, lattice orientation, internal gas pressure, and substrate type is analyzed in view of strain-engineered graphene nanostructures capable of confining and/or guiding electrons at low energies. Except in highly anisotropic geometries, the magnitude of the PMF is generally significant only near the boundaries of the aperture and rapidly decays towards the center because under gas pressure at the scales considered here there is considerable bending at the edges and the central region displays nearly isotropic strain. When the deflection lead to sharp bends at the edges, curvature and the tilting of the $p_z$ orbitals cannot be ignored and contributes substantially to the total field. The strong and localized nature of the PMF at the boundaries and its polarity-changing profile can be exploited to trap electrons inside the bubble or of guiding them in channel-like geometries defined by edges. However, we establish that slippage of graphene against the substrate is an important factor in determining the degree of concentration of PMFs in or around the bulge since it can lead to considerable softening of the strain gradients there. The nature of the substrate emerges thus as a decisive factor determining the effectiveness of nanoscale PMFs tailoring in graphene., Comment: 20 pages, 20 figures including appendices, references updated

Strain engineering has been recently recognized as an effective way to tailor the electrical properties of graphene. In the optical domain, effects such as strain-induced anisotropic absorption add an appealing functionality to graphene, opening the prospect for atomically thin optical elements. Indeed, graphene is currently one of the notable players in the intense drive towards bendable, thin, and portable electronic displays, where its intrinsically metallic, optically transparent, and mechanically robust nature are major advantages. Given that the intrinsic transparency of a graphene monolayer is 97.7 %, any small, reproducible, controllable, and potentially reversible modulation of transparency can have a significant impact for graphene as a viable transparent conducting electrode. Even more so, if the degree of modulation is polarization dependent. Here we show that the transparency in the visible range of graphene pre-strained on a Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate exhibits a periodic modulation (0.1 %) as a function of polarization direction, which we interpret as strain-induced optical anisotropy. The degree of anisotropy is varied by reversible external manipulation of the level of pre-strain. The magnitude of strain is monitored independently by optical absorption and Raman spectroscopy, and the experimental observations are consistent with the theoretically expected modification of the optical conductivity of graphene arising from the strain-induced changes in the electronic dispersion of graphene. The strain sensitivity of the optical response of graphene demonstrated in this study can be potentially utilized towards novel ultra-thin optical devices and strain sensing applications., Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures

A geometry-independent effective model for the contact self-energies is proposed to calculate the quantum conductance of patterned graphene devices using Green's functions. A Corbino disk, being the simplest device where the contacts can not be modeled as semi-infinite ribbons, is chosen to illustrate this approach. This system's symmetry allows an analytical solution against which numerical calculations on the lattice can be benchmarked. The effective model perfectly describes the conductance of Corbino disks at low-to-moderate energies, and is robust against the size of the annular device region, the number of atoms on the edge, external magnetic fields, or electronic disorder. The contact model considered here affords an expedite, flexible, and geometry-agnostic approach easily allows the consideration of device dimensions encompassing several million atoms, and realistic radial dimensions of a few hundreds of nanometers., Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures

To address the robustness of the transport gap induced by locally strained regions in graphene nanostructures, the effect of disorder and smoothness of the interface region is investigated within the Landauer-B\"uttiker formalism. The electronic conductance across strained junctions and barriers in graphene nanoribbons is calculated numerically, with and without various types of disorder, and comparing smooth and sharp strain junctions. A smooth strain barrier in graphene is seen to be generically as efficient in suppressing transport at low densities as a sharp one, and the critical density (or energy) for the onset of transmission depends on the strain orientation with respect to the ribbon. In addition, hopping (or strain) inhomogeneity and work function mismatch at the interface region do not visibly degrade the transport gap. These results show that the strain-induced transport gap at a strain junction is robust to more realistic strain conditions., Comment: The updated manuscript contains a detailed discussion of the effects of work function mismatch. 12 pages, 9 figures

We report significant changes of optical conductivity in single layer graphene induced by mild oxygen plasma exposure, and explore the interplay between carrier doping, disorder, and many-body interactions from their signatures in the absorption spectrum. The first distinctive effect is the reduction of the excitonic binding energy that can be extracted from the renormalized saddle point resonance at 4.64 eV. Secondly, the real part of the frequency-dependent conductivity is nearly completely suppressed below an exposure-dependent threshold in the near infrared range. The clear step-like suppression follows the Pauli blocking behaviour expected for doped monolayer graphene. The nearly zero residual conductivity at frequencies below 2Ef can be interpreted as arising from the weakening of the electronic self-energy. Our data shows that mild oxygen exposure can be used to controlably dope graphene without introducing the strong physical and chemical changes that are common in other approaches to oxidized graphene, allowing a controllable manipulation of the optical properties of graphene.

Realistic relaxed configurations of triaxially strained graphene quantum dots are obtained from unbiased atomistic mechanical simulations. The local electronic structure and quantum transport characteristics of y-junctions based on such dots are studied, revealing that the quasi-uniform pseudomagnetic field induced by strain restricts transport to Landau level- and edge state-assisted resonant tunneling. Valley degeneracy is broken in the presence of an external field, allowing the selective filtering of the valley and chirality of the states assisting in the resonant tunneling. Asymmetric strain conditions can be explored to select the exit channel of the y-junction., Comment: Manuscript text and supporting information

The electronic implications of strain in graphene can be captured at low energies by means of pseudovector potentials which can give rise to pseudomagnetic fields. These strain-induced vector potentials arise from the local perturbation to the electronic hopping amplitudes in a tight-binding framework. Here we complete the standard description of the strain-induced vector potential, which accounts only for the hopping perturbation, with the explicit inclusion of the lattice deformations or, equivalently, the deformation of the Brillouin zone. These corrections are linear in strain and are different at each of the strained, inequivalent Dirac points, and hence are equally necessary to identify the precise magnitude of the vector potential. This effect can be relevant in scenarios of inhomogeneous strain profiles, where electronic motion depends on the amount of overlap among the local Fermi surfaces. In particular, it affects the pseudomagnetic field distribution induced by inhomogeneous strain configurations, and can lead to new opportunities in tailoring the optimal strain fields for certain desired functionalities., Comment: Errata for version 2

We show that by enclosing graphene in an optical cavity, giant Faraday rotations in the infrared regime are generated and measurable Faraday rotation angles in the visible range become possible. Explicit expressions for the Hall steps of the Faraday rotation angle are given for relevant regimes. In the context of this problem we develop an equation of motion (EOM) method for calculation of the magneto-optical properties of metals and semiconductors. It is shown that properly regularized EOM solutions are fully equivalent to the Kubo formula., Comment: 27 pages, 19 figures. published version: references and appendixes updated, secs. II and III interchanged

The optical conductivity of graphene nanoribbons is analytical and exactly derived. It is shown that the absence of translation invariance along the transverse direction allows considerable intra-band absorption in a narrow frequency window that varies with the ribbon width, and lies in the THz range domain for ribbons 10-100nm wide. In this spectral region the absorption anisotropy can be as high as two orders of magnitude, which renders the medium strongly dichroic, and allows for a very high degree of polarization (up to ~85) with just a single layer of graphene. The effect is resilient to level broadening of the ribbon spectrum potentially induced by disorder. Using a cavity for impedance enhancement, or a stack of few layer nanoribbons, these values can reach almost 100%. This opens a potential prospect of employing graphene ribbon structures as efficient polarizers in the far IR and THz frequencies., Comment: Revised version. 10 pages, 7 figures

The optical conductivity of graphene strained uniaxially is studied within the Kubo-Greenwood formalism. Focusing on inter-band absorption, we analyze and quantify the breakdown of universal transparency in the visible region of the spectrum, and analytically characterize the transparency as a function of strain and polarization. Measuring transmittance as a function of incident polarization directly reflects the magnitude and direction of strain. Moreover, direction-dependent selection rules permit identification of the lattice orientation by monitoring the van-Hove transitions. These photoelastic effects in graphene can be explored towards atomically thin, broadband optical elements.

As the thinnest atomic membrane, graphene presents an opportunity to combine geometry, elasticity and electronics at the limits of their validity. The availability of reliable atomistic potentials for graphene allows unprecedented precise simulations of the mechanical response of atomic membranes. Here we describe the transport and electronic structure in the neighbourhood of conical singularities, the elementary excitations of the ubiquitous wrinkled and crumpled graphene that occur in non-epitaxial suspended samples where shear stresses are unavoidable. We use a combination of atomistic mechanical simulations, analytical geometry and transport calculations in curved graphene, and exact diagonalization of the electronic spectrum to calculate the effects of geometry on electronic structure, transport and mobility in suspended samples. We also point out how the geometry-generated pseudo-magnetic/electric fields might disrupt Landau quantization under a magnetic field.

We study the magnetization of square and hexagonal graphene dots. It is shown that two classes of hexagonal dots have a second order phase transition at a critical Hubbard energy $U$, whoose value is similar to the one in bulk graphene, albeit the dots do not have a density of states proportional to the absolute value of the energy, relatively to the Dirac point. Furthermore, we show that a particular class of hexagonal dots having zig-zag edges, does not exhibit zero energy edge states. We also study the effect of uniaxial strain on the evolution of the magnetization of square dots, and find that the overall effect is an enhancement of magnetization with strain. The enhancement can be as large as 100% for strain of the order of 20%. Additionaly, stress induces a spatial displacement of the magnetization over the dot, moving it from the zig-zag to the armchair edges., Comment: Figure and references added. Conclusions section enlarged; http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevB.80.245436

We determine the band structure of graphene under strain using density functional calculations. The ab-initio band strucure is then used to extract the best fit to the tight-binding hopping parameters used in a recent microscopic model of strained graphene. It is found that the hopping parameters may increase or decrease upon increasing strain, depending on the orientation of the applied stress. The fitted values are compared with an available parametrization for the dependence of the orbital overlap on the distance separating the two carbon atoms. It is also found that strain does not induce a gap in graphene, at least for deformations up to 10%.

We review the problem of adatoms in graphene under two complementary points of view, scattering theory and strong correlations. We show that in both cases impurity atoms on the graphene surface present effects that are absent in the physics of impurities in ordinary metals. We discuss how to observe these unusual effects with standard experimental probes such as scanning tunneling microscopes, and spin susceptibility., Comment: For the Proceedings of the "Graphene Week 2008" at the ICTP in Trieste, Italy. 8 pages, 8 figures

We analyze the effect of tensional strain in the electronic structure of graphene. In the absence of electron-electron interactions, within linear elasticity theory, and a tight-binding approach, we observe that strain can generate a bulk spectral gap. However this gap is critical, requiring threshold deformations in excess of 20%, and only along preferred directions with respect to the underlying lattice. The gapless Dirac spectrum is robust for small and moderate deformations, and the gap appears as a consequence of the merging of the two inequivalent Dirac points, only under considerable deformations of the lattice. We discuss how strain-induced anisotropy and local deformations can be used as a means to affect transport characteristics and pinch off current flow in graphene devices., Comment: Expanded version of the original paper

We propose a route to all-graphene integrated electronic devices by exploring the influence of strain on the electronic structure of graphene. We show that strain can be easily tailored to generate electron beam collimation, 1D channels, surface states and confinement, the basic elements for all-graphene electronics. In addition this proposal has the advantage that patterning can be made on substrates rather than on the graphene sheet, thereby protecting the integrity of the latter., Comment: Minor changes

We consider the instability of bilayer graphene with respect to a distorted configuration in the same spirit as the model introduced by Su, Schrieffer and Heeger. By computing the total energy of a distorted bilayer, we conclude that the ground state of the system favors a finite distortion. We explore how the equilibrium configuration changes with carrier density and an applied potential difference between the two layers.

We study the distribution of vacuum polarization charge induced by a Coulomb impurity in massive graphene. By analytically computing the polarization function, we show that the charge density is distributed in space in a non-trivial fashion, and on a characteristic length-scale set by the effective Compton wavelength. The density crosses over from a logarithmic behavior below this scale, to a power law variation above it. Our results in the continuum limit are confirmed by explicit diagonalization of the corresponding tight-binding model on a finite-size lattice. Electron-electron interaction effects are also discussed., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures; expanded version

We study the problem of Coulomb field-induced charging of the ground state in a system of 2D massive Dirac particles (gapped graphene). As in its 3D QED counterpart, the critical Coulomb coupling is renormalized to higher values, compared to the massless case. We find that in gapped graphene a novel supercritical regime is possible, where the screening charge is comparable to the impurity charge, thus leading to suppression of the Coulomb field at nanometer scales. We corroborate this with numerical solution of the tight-binding problem in the honeycomb lattice., Comment: Revised and extended version

We address the problem of an unscreened Coulomb charge in graphene, and calculate the local density of states and displaced charge as a function of energy and distance from the impurity. This is done non-perturbatively in two different ways: (1) solving the problem exactly by studying numerically the tight-binding model on the lattice; (2) using the continuum description in terms of the 2D Dirac equation. We show that the Dirac equation, when properly regularized, provides a qualitative and quantitative low energy description of the problem. The lattice solution shows extra features that cannot be described by the Dirac equation, namely bound state formation and strong renormalization of the van Hove singularities., Comment: 3 Figures; minor typo corrections and minor update in Fig. 3d