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We construct Sierpinski-carpet (SC) based on AA or AB bilayer graphene by atom vacancies, namely, SC-AA and SC-AB, to investigate the effects of interlayer coupling on the electronic properties of fractals. Compared with monolayer graphene SC, their density of states have similar features, such as Van-Hove singularities and edge states corresponding to the central peaks near zero energy, but remarkable energy broadening of edge states emerges in SC-AA(AB). Calculated conductance spectrum shows that the conductance fluctuations still hold the Hausdorff fractal dimension behavior even with the interlayer coupling. Thus, the high correlation between quantum conductance and fractal geometry dimension is not affected by the interlayer coupling in bilayer graphene SC. We further reveal the quasi-eigenstates in fractal-like pressure-modulated bilayer graphene, namely, SC-pAA and SC-pAB. Numerical results show that the density of states of SC-pAA(pAB) show an asymptotic behavior to those of SC-AA(AB) especially for high energy quasi-eigenstates. Within a certain energy range, stronger pressure can lead to stronger localization, forming an efficient fractal space.

Kagome lattices have an inherent two-dimensional nature. Despite previous realizations in the monolayer limit, their abilities to drive emergent electronic states such as correlated insulators have remained unobserved. Here, we report the experimental realization of a new structural phase of monolayer Mo33Te56, characterized by its virtually global uniformity as a mirror-twin boundary loop superlattice embedded in an H-MoTe2 monolayer. Through a combination of scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and theoretical calculations, we unveil a kagome geometry along with multiple associated sets of kagome flat bands. Crucially, the partial filling of these kagome bands induces ferromagnetism as revealed by spin-polarized STM, and leads to a correlated insulating state exhibiting a hard gap as large as 15 meV. Our findings represent a major advance in kagome materials, offering a framework with clearer band structures and more intrinsic two-dimensional properties for exploring flat-band physics., Comment: 22 pages, 4 figures

Recent progress in controllable functionalization of graphene surfaces enables the experimental realization of complex functionalized graphene nanostructures, such as Sierpinski carpet (SC) fractals. Herein, we model the SC fractals formed by hydrogen and fluorine functionalized patterns on graphene surfaces, namely, H-SC and F-SC, respectively. We then reveal their electronic properties and quantum transport features. From calculated results of the total and local density of state, we find that states in H-SC and F-SC have two characteristics: (i) low-energy states inside about |E/t|<1 (with t as the near-neighbor hopping) are localized inside free graphene regions due to the insulating properties of functionalized graphene regions, and (ii) high-energy states in F-SC have two special energy ranges including -2.3

Finding out how symmetry encodes optical polarization information into the selection rule in molecules and materials is important for their optoelectronic applications including spectroscopic analysis, display technology and quantum computation. Here, we extend the polarization-dependent selection rules from atoms to solid systems with point group descriptions via rotational operator for circular polarization and $2$-fold rotational operator (or reflection operator) for linear polarization. As a variant of graphene quantum dot (GQD), twisted bilayer graphene quantum dot (TBGQD) certainly inherits GQD's advantages including ultrathin thickness, excellent biocompatibility and shape- and size-tunable optical absorption/emission. We then naturally ask how the electronic structures and optical properties of TBGQDs rely on size, shape, twist angle and correlation effects. We build plentiful types of TBGQDs with $10$ point groups and obtain the optical selection rule database for all types, where the current operator matrix elements identify the generalized polarization-dependent selection rules. Our results show that both of the electronic and optical band gaps follow power-law scalings and the twist angle has the dominant role in modifying the size scaling. We map an atlas of optical conductivity spectra for both size and twist angle in TBGQDs. As a result of quantum confinement effect of finite size, in the atlas a new type of optical conductivity peaks absent in twisted bilayer graphene bulk is predicted theoretically with multiple discrete absorption frequencies from infrared to ultraviolet light, enabling applications on photovoltaic devices and photodetectors. The atlas and size scaling provide a full structure/symmetry-function interrelation and hence offers an excellent geometrical manipulation of optical properties of TBGQD as a building block in integrated carbon optoelectronics.

The incommensurate 30$^{\circ}$ twisted bilayer graphene (BG) possesses both relativistic Dirac fermions and quasiperiodicity with 12-fold rotational symmetry arising from the interlayer interaction [\href{https://science.sciencemag.org/content/361/6404/782}{Ahn et al., Science \textbf{361}, 782 (2018)} and \href{https://www.pnas.org/content/115/27/6928}{Yao et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. \textbf{115}, 6928 (2018)}]. Understanding how the interlayer states interact with each other is of vital importance for identifying and subsequently engineering the quasicrystalline order in the layered structures. Herein, via symmetry and group representation theory we unravel the interlayer hybridization selection rules governing the interlayer coupling in both untwisted and twisted BG systems. Compared with the only allowed equivalent hybridization in $D_{6h}$ untwisted BG, $D_6$ twisted BG permits equivalent and mixed hybridizations, and $D_{6d}$ graphene quasicrystal allows both equivalent and non-equivalent hybridizations. The energy-dependent hybridization strengths in graphene quasicrystal and $D_6$ twisted BG show two remarkable characteristics: (i) near the Fermi level the weak hybridization owing to the relatively large energy difference between Dirac bands from top and bottom layers, and (ii) in high-energy regions the electron-hole asymmetry of hybridization strength with stronger interlayer coupling for holes, which arises from the non-nearest-neighbor interlayer hoppings and the wave-function phase difference between paring states. These hybridization-generated band structures and their hybridization strength characteristics are verified by the calculated optical conductivity spectra. Our theoretical study paves a way for revealing the interlayer hybridization in van der Waals layered systems.

The lack of inversion symmetry in semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers (TMDMs) enables a considerable molecular-level intrinsic piezoelectricity, which opens prospects for atomically-thin piezotronics and optoelectronics. Here, based on the tight-binding (TB) approach and Berry phase polarization theory, we establish an atomic-scale TB theory for demonstrating piezoelectric physics in TMDMs. Using the TB piezoelectric theory, we predict their electronic Gr\"{u}neisen parameters (EGP) which measure the electron-phonon couplings. By virtue of the constructed analytical piezoelectric model, we further reveal the correlation between the electronic contribution to piezoelectric coefficients and strain-induced pseudomagnetic gauge field (PMF). These predicted EGP and PMF for TMDMs are experimentally testable, and hence the TB piezoelectric model is an alternative theoretical framework for calculating electron-phonon interactions and PMF.

Using the strain-dependent effective Hamiltonian and the geometric phase, Droth et al. [Phys. Rev. B 94, 075404 (2016)] obtain an analytical expression for the electronic contribution to the piezoelectricity of planar hexagonal boron nitride (h -BN). Their analytical results of piezoelectric constants for h -BN are invalid because of the mistakes in constructing the adiabatic process of the piezoelectricity. In this comment, we reconstruct a proper adiabatic process for piezoelectricity and formulate a general Berry phase expression for the piezoelectric coefficients of two-dimensional piezoelectric crystals by means of the modern theory of polarization. The corrected analytical results of the piezoelectric constants are in complete consistency with the first-principles calculations and hence manifest the validity and generality of the Berry phase expression of piezoelectric coefficients.