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The energy spectra for the tight-binding models on the Lieb and kagom�� lattices both exhibit a flat band. We present a model which continuously interpolates between these two limits. The flat band located in the middle of the three-band spectrum for the Lieb lattice is distorted, generating two pairs of Dirac points. While the upper pair evolves into graphene-like Dirac cones in the kagom�� limit, the low energy pair evolves until it merges producing the band-bottom flat band. The topological characterization of the Dirac points is achieved by projecting the Hamiltonian on the two relevant bands in order to obtain an effective Dirac Hamiltonian. The low energy pair of Dirac points is particularly interesting in this respect: when they emerge, they have opposite winding numbers, but as they merge, they have the same winding number. This apparent paradox is due to a continuous rotation of their states in pseudo-spin space, characterized by a winding vector. This simple, but quite rich model, suggests a way to a systematic characterization of two-band contact points in multiband systems., 9 pages, 6 figures

Inspired by recent experiments with cold atoms in optical lattices, we consider a St��ckelberg interferometer for a particle performing Bloch oscillations in a tight-binding model on the honeycomb lattice. The interferometer is made of two avoided crossings at the saddle points of the band structure (i.e. at M points of the reciprocal space). This problem is reminiscent of the double Dirac cone St��ckelberg interferometer that was recently studied in the continuum limit [Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 155302 (2014)]. Although the two problems share similarities -- such as the appearance of a geometric phase shift -- lattice effects, not captured by the continuum limit, make them truly different. The particle dynamics in the presence of a force is described by the Bloch Hamiltonian $H(\boldsymbol{k})$ defined from the tight-binding Hamiltonian and the position operator. This leads to many interesting effects for the lattice St��ckelberg interferometer: a twisting of the two Landau-Zener tunnelings, saturation of the inter-band transition probability in the sudden (infinite force) limit and extended periodicity or even non-periodicity beyond the first Brillouin zone. In particular, St��ckelberg interferometry gives access to the overlap matrix of cell-periodic Bloch states thereby allowing to fully characterize the geometry of Bloch states, as e.g. to obtain the quantum metric tensor., 20 pages, 19 figures, added references, minor corrections

This review aims at a theoretical discussion of Dirac points in two-dimensional systems. Whereas Dirac points and Dirac fermions are prominent low-energy electrons in graphene (two-dimensional graphite), research on Dirac fermions in low-energy physics has spread beyond condensed-matter systems. In these alternative systems, a large versatility in the manipulation of the relevant band parameters can be achieved. This allows for a systematic study of the motion and different possible fusions of Dirac points, which are beyond the physical limits of graphene. We introduce the basic properties of Dirac fermions and the motion of Dirac points here and aim at a topological classification of these motions. The theoretical concepts are illustrated in particular model systems., 26 pages, 7 figures; review presented at Institut Henri Poincar\'e, S\'eminaire Poincar\'e "Mati\`ere de Dirac", June 2014

We study the time evolution of a two-dimensional quantum particle exhibiting an energy spectrum, made of two bands, with two Dirac cones, as e.g. in the band structure of a honeycomb lattice. A force is applied such that the particle experiences two Landau-Zener transitions in succession. The adiabatic evolution between the two transitions leads to St��ckelberg interferences, due to two possible trajectories in energy space. In addition to well-known dynamical and Stokes phases, the interference pattern reveals a geometric phase which depends on the chirality (winding number) and the mass sign associated to each Dirac cone, as well as on the type of trajectory (parallel or diagonal with respect to the two cones) in parameter space. This geometric phase reveals the coupling between the bands encoded in the structure of the wavefunctions., 20 pages, 12 figures

We show that a St��ckelberg interferometer made of two massive Dirac cones can reveal information on band eigenstates such as the chirality and mass sign of the cones. For a given spectrum with two gapped cones, we propose several low-energy Hamiltonians differing by their eigenstates properties. The corresponding inter-band transition probability is affected by such differences in its interference fringes being shifted by a new phase of geometrical origin. This phase can be a useful bulk probe for topological band structures realized with artificial crystals., 5 pages, 4 figures, 1 table; accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Lett

We calculate the modulation by a magnetic field of the critical current of a long disordered Josephson junction in the diffusive limit, i.e. when the dimensions of the junction are larger that the elastic mean free path, and when the length $L$ is much larger than the width $w$. Due to the averaging of the gauge invariant phase factor over diffusive trajectories, the well-known oscillations of the Fraunhofer pattern are smoothed out and replaced by an exponential decay at large field. The predicted pattern is universal, i.e., it is independent of the disorder strength. We point out an interesting relation with the physics of speckle correlations in optics of turbid media., 4 pages, 2 figures

This lecture is a tutorial introduction to coherent effects in disordered electronic systems. Avoiding technicalities as most as possible, I present some personal points of view to describe well-known signatures of phase coherence like weak localization correction or universal conductance fluctuations. I show how these physical properties of phase coherent conductors can be simply related to the classical return probability for a diffusive particle. The diffusion equation is then solved in various appropriate geometries and in the presence of a magnetic field. The important notion of quantum crossing is developed, which is at the origin of the quantum effects. The analogy with optics is exploited and the relation between universal conductance fluctuations and speckle fluctuations in optics is explained. The last part concerns the effect of electron-electron interactions. Using the same simple description, I derive qualitatively the expressions of the Altshuler-Aronov anomaly of the density of states, and of the correction to the conductivity. The last part, slightly more technical, adresses the question of the lifetime of a quasiparticle in a disordered metal., Comment: 45 pages, 15 figures, Lectures notes for the "International School on Physics of Zero and One Dimensional Nanoscopic Systems", Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Calcutta, India, 1-9 February, 2006

We study the quantum transport in multiterminal networks of quasi-one-dimensional diffusive wires. When calculating the weak localization correction to the conductances, we show that the Cooperon must be properly weighted over each wire. This can even change the sign of the weak localization correction in certain geometries., 4 pages, LaTeX, 7 eps figures, contribution to the proceedings of the XXXIXth Moriond conference, La Thuile, Italy, January 2004

The low temperature magnetoconductance of a large array of quantum coherentloops exhibits Altshuler-Aronov-Spivak oscillations which periodicitycorresponds to 1/2 flux quantum per loop.We show that the measurement of the harmonics content in a square networkprovides an accurate way to determine the electron phase coherence length$L\_{\phi}$ in units of the lattice length without any adjustableparameters.We use this method to determine $L\_{\phi}$ in a network realised from a 2Delectron gas (2DEG) in a GaAS/GaAlAs heterojunction. The temperaturedependence follows a power law $T^{-1/3}$ from 1.3 K to 25 mK with nosaturation, as expected for 1D diffusive electronic motion andelectron-electron scattering as the main decoherence mechanism., Comment: Additional experimental data in version 2

We show that, in low dimensional conductors, the quasiparticle decay and the relaxation of the phase are not exponential processes. In quasi-one dimension, they scale as $e^{- (t/\tau_N)^{3/2}}$ where the characteristic time $\tau_{in}$, identical for both processes, is a power $T^{2/3}$ of the temperature. This result implies a distribution of relaxation times., Comment: 6 pages, LaTeX, 1 eps figure, contribution to the proceedings of the XXXIXth Moriond conference, La Thuile, Italy, January 2004

Recent experiments on quantum dots in the Coulomb Blockade regime have shown how adding successive electrons into a dot modifies the energy spectrum and the wave functions of the electrons already present in the dot. Using a microscopic model, we study the importance of electron-electron interaction on these ``scrambling'' effects. We compute the Hartree-Fock single particle properties as function of the number $p$ of added electrons. We define parametric correlation functions that characterize the scrambling properties of the Hartree-Fock wave functions and energy spectra. We find that each of these correlation functions exhibit a universal behavior in terms of the ratio $p/p^{\ast}$ where $p^{\ast}$ is a characteristic number that decreases with increasing either the interaction strength, the disorder strength or the system size, proceedings Recontres de Moriond, les Arcs 2001, 2 figures

In this brief tutorial review, I show how phase coherent properties of disordered conductors can be described in a simple and unified way. These properties include transport properties like weak-localization correction and universal conductance fluctuations, and thermodynamic properties like orbital magnetism and persistent currents. They can be related to the classical return probability for a diffusive particle. For a network with $N$ nodes, the return probability can be related to the determinant of a $N \times N$ "connectivity" matrix $M$ so that the magnetization and the transport quantities can be {\it directly} written in term of $\det M$., Comment: 12 pages, Invited talk, International Workshop on superconductivity, magnetoresistive materials and correlated quantum systems, Rencontres du Vietnam, Hanoi 1999, p. 207 (Vietnam National University Press)

We discuss some recent results on the statistics of the Coulomb Blockade in disordered quantum dots containing spinless interacting fermions using the self-consistent Hartree-Fock approximation. We concentrate on the regime r_s >~1, with finite dimensionless conductance g. We present significantly different results for the cases of a Coulomb and a nearest-neighbour bare interaction. We show that neglecting rearrangements when the particle number is changed (Koopmans' approximation) can lead to large errors, and show how the spectral statistics of the self-consistent single particle orbitals evolve with the interaction strength., Contribution for proceedings of Moriond 99, 5 pages, incl. moriond.sty. More details given in cond-mat/9902258

This is a review of the properties of spectral fluctations in disordered metals, their relation with Random Matrix Theory and semiclassical picture. We also review the physics of persistent currents in mesoscopic isolated rings, the parametric correlations and curvature distributions., 45 LateX pages, 15 postscript figures, Minor typos have been corrected and references updated