Long-range adsorbate interactions mediated by two-dimensional Dirac fermions

We provide here an analytical formalism to describe the indirect interaction between adsorbed atom or molecule pairs mediated by two-dimensional(2D)Dirac fermions.We show that in contrast to the case of traditional 2D electron gas,in the 2D Dirac system,the long-range interaction behaves as 1/r^(3) decaying Friedel oscillation.This analytical formalism is fully consistent with a tight-binding numerical calculation of honeycomb lattices.Our formalism is suitable for the realistic 2D Dirac materials,such as graphene and surface states of three-dimensional topological insulators.

Magnetic Manipulation of Massless Dirac Fermions in Graphene Quantum Dot

We have theoretically analyzed the quasibound states in a Mraphene quantum dot （GO, D） with a magnetic flux -φ in the centre. It is shown that the two-fold time reversal degeneracy is broken and the quasibound states of GQD with positive^negative angular momentum shifted upwards/downwards with increasing the magnetic flux. The variation of the quasibound energy depends linearly on the magnetic flux, which is quite different from the parabolic relationship for SchrSdinger electrons. The GQD＇s quasibound states spectrum shows an obvious Aharonov-Bohm （AB） oscillations with the magnetic flux. It is also shown that the quasibound state with energy equal to the barrier height becomes a bound state completely confined in GQD.

Fabrication of honeycomb AuTe monolayer with Dirac nodal line fermions

Two-dimensional honeycomb lattices show great potential in the realization of Dirac nodal line fermions(DNLFs).Here,we successfully synthesized a gold telluride(AuTe)monolayer by direct tellurizing an Au(111)substrate.Low energy electron diffraction measurements reveal that it is(2×2)AuTe layer stacked onto(3×3)Au(111)substrate.Moreover,scanning tunneling microscopy images show that the AuTe layer has a honeycomb structure.Scanning transmission electron microscopy reveals that it is a single-atom layer.In addition,first-principles calculations demonstrate that the honeycomb AuTe monolayer exhibits Dirac nodal line features protected by mirror symmetry,which is validated by angle-resolved photoemission spectra.Our results establish that monolayer AuTe can be a good candidate to investigate 2D DNLFs and provides opportunities to realize high-speed low-dissipation devices.

Maximal symmetry and mass generation of Dirac fermions and gravitational gauge field theory in six-dimensional spacetime

The relativistic Dirac equation in four-dimensional spacetime reveals a coherent relation between the dimensions of spacetime and the degrees of freedom of fermionic spinors. A massless Dirac fermion generates new symmetries corresponding to chirality spin and charge spin as well as conformal scaling transformations. With the introduction of intrinsic W-parity, a massless Dirac fermion can be treated as a Majorana-type or Weyl-type spinor in a six-dimensional spacetime that reflects the intrinsic quantum numbers of chirality spin. A generalized Dirac equation is obtained in the six-dimensional spacetime with a maximal symmetry. Based on the framework of gravitational quantum field theory proposed in Ref. [1] with the postulate of gauge invariance and coordinate independence, we arrive at a maximally symmetric gravitational gauge field theory for the massless Dirac fermion in six-dimensional spacetime. Such a theory is governed by the local spin gauge symmetry SP（1,5） and the global Poincar′e symmetry P（1,5）= SO（1,5） P^1,5 as well as the charge spin gauge symmetry SU（2）. The theory leads to the prediction of doubly electrically charged bosons. A scalar field and conformal scaling gauge field are introduced to maintain both global and local conformal scaling symmetries. A generalized gravitational Dirac equation for the massless Dirac fermion is derived in the six-dimensional spacetime. The equations of motion for gauge fields are obtained with conserved currents in the presence of gravitational effects. The dynamics of the gauge-type gravifield as a Goldstone-like boson is shown to be governed by a conserved energy-momentum tensor, and its symmetric part provides a generalized Einstein equation of gravity. An alternative geometrical symmetry breaking mechanism for the mass generation of Dirac fermions is demonstrated.

Seeing Dirac electrons and heavy fermions in new boron nitride monolayers

Most three-dimensional(3D)and two-dimensional(2D)boron nitride(BN)structures are wide-band-gap insulators.Here,we propose two BN monolayers having Dirac points and flat bands,respectively.One monolayer is named as 5-7 BN that consists of five-and seven-membered rings.The other is a Kagome BN made of triangular boron rings and nitrogen dimers.The two structures show not only good dynamic and thermodynamic stabilities but also novel electronic properties.The 5-7 BN has Dirac points on the Fermi level,indicating that the structure is a typical Dirac material.The Kagome BN has double flat bands just below the Fermi level,and thus there are heavy fermions in the structure.The flat-band-induced ferromagnetism is also revealed.We analyze the origination of the band structures by partial density of states and projection of orbitals.In addition,a possible route to experimentally grow the two structures on some suitable substrates such as the PbO2(111)surface and the CdO(111)surface is also discussed,respectively.Our research not only extends understanding on the electronic properties of BN structures,but also may expand the applications of BN materials in 2D electronic devices.

Thermodynamic properties of massless Dirac–Weyl fermions under the generalized uncertainty principle

The Dirac–Weyl equation characterized quasi-particles in the T3 lattice are studied under external magnetic field using the generalized uncertainty principle(GUP). The energy spectrum of the quasi-particles is found by the Nikiforov–Uvarov method. Based on the energy spectrum obtained, the thermodynamic properties are given, and the influence of the GUP on the statistical properties of systems is discussed. The results show that the energy and thermodynamic functions of massless Dirac–Weyl fermions in the T3 lattice depend on the variation of the GUP parameter.

Highly anisotropic Dirac fermion and spin transport properties in Cu-graphane

Inspired by the successful synthesis of h Hv-graphane[Nano Lett.15903(2015)],a new two-dimensional(2D)Janus material Cu-graphane is proposed based on the first-principles calculations.Without the spin-orbit coupling(SOC)effect,Cu-graphane is a Dirac semimetal with a highly anisotropic Dirac cone,whose Fermi velocity ranges from 0.12×10^(5)m/s to2.9×10^(5)m/s.The Dirac cone near the Fermi level can be well described with an extended 2D Dirac model Hamiltonian.In the presence of the SOC effect,band splitting is observed around the Fermi level,and a large intrinsic spin Hall conductivity(ISHC)with a maximum value of 346(h/e)S/cm is predicted.Moreover,the spin Hall transport can be regulated by slightly adjusting the Fermi energy,e.g.,grid voltage or chemical doping.Our work not only proposes a new 2D Janus material with a highly anisotropic Dirac cone and a large ISHC,but also reveals that a large ISHC may exist in some Dirac systems.

Nanoscale strain engineering of graphene and graphene-based devices

Structural distortions in nano-materials can induce dramatic changes in their electronic properties. This situation is well manifested in graphene, a two-dimensional honeycomb structure of carbon atoms with only one atomic layer thickness. In particular, strained graphene can result in both charging effects and pseudo-magnetic fields, so that controlled strain on a perfect graphene lattice can be tailored to yield desirable electronic properties. Here, we describe the theoretical foundation for strain-engineering of the electronic properties of graphene, and then provide experimental evidence for strain-induced pseudo-magnetic fields and charging effects in monolayer graphene. We further demonstrate the feasibility of nano-scale strain engineering for graphene-based devices by means of theoretical simulations and nano-fabrication technology.

Graphene-like physics in optical lattices

Graphene has attracted enormous attention over the past years in condensed matter physics. The most interesting feature of graphene is that its low-energy excitations are relativistic Dirac fermions. Such feature is the origin of many topological properties in graphene-like physics. On the other hand, ultracold quantum gas trapped in an optical lattice has become a unique setting for quantum simulation of condensed matter physics. Here, we mainly review our recent work on quantum simulation of graphene-like physics with ultracold atoms trapped in a honeycomb or square optical lattice, including the simulation of Dirac fermions and quantum Hall effect with and without Landau levels. We also present the related experimental advances.

Recent progress on non-Abelian anyons:from Majorana zero modes to topological Dirac fermionic modes

Majorana zero modes(MZMs)have been intensively studied in recent decades theoretically and experimentally as the most promising candidate for non-Abelian anyons supporting topological quantum computation(TQC).In addition to the Majorana scheme,some non-Majorana quasiparticles obeying non-Abelian statistics,including topological Dirac fermionic modes,have also been proposed and therefore become new candidates for TQC.In this review,we overview the non-Abelian braiding properties as well as the corresponding braiding schemes for both the MZMs and the topological Dirac fermionic modes,emphasizing the recent progress on topological Dirac fermionic modes.A topological Dirac fermionic mode can be regarded as a pair of MZMs related by unitary symmetry,which can be realized in a number of platforms,including the one-dimensional topological insulator,higher-order topological insulator,and spin superconductor.This topological Dirac fermionic mode possesses several advantages compared with its Majorana cousin,such as superconductivity-free and larger gaps.Therefore,it provides a new avenue for investigating non-Abelian physics and possible TQC.

A review of the growth and structures of silicene on Ag(111)

Ag(111) is currently the most often used substrate for growing silicene films. Silicene forms a variety of different phases on the Ag(111) substrate. However, the structures of these phases are still not fully understood so far. In this brief review we summarize the growth condition and resulting silicene phases on Ag(111), and discuss the most plausible structural model and electronic property of individual phases. The existing debates on silicene on Ag(111) system are clarified as mush as possible.

Two-carrier transport in SrMnBi2 thin films

Monocrystalline SrMnBi2 thin films were grown by molecular beam epitaxy （MBE）, and their transport properties were investigated. A high and unsaturated linear magnetoresistance （MR） was observed, which exhibited a transition from a semi-classical weak-field B2 dependence to a high-field linear dependence. An unusual nonlinear Hall resistance was also observed because of the anisotropic Dirac fermions. The two-carrier model was adopted to analyze the unusual Hall resistance quantitatively. The fitting results yielded carrier densities and mobilities of 3.75×10^14 cm^-2 and 850 cm^2·V^-1·s^-1, respectively, for holes, and 1.468×10^13 cm^-2, 4118 cm^2·V^-1·s^-1, respectively, for electrons, with a hole-dominant conduction at 2.5 K. Hence, an effective mobility can be achieved, which is in reasonable agreement with the effective hole mobility of 1800 cm^2·V^-1·s^-1, extracted from the MR. Further, the angle-dependent MR, proportional to cos 0, where 0 is the angle between the external magnetic field and the perpendicular orientation of the sample plane, also implies a high anisotropy of the Fermi surface. Our results about SrMnBi2 thin films, as one of a new class of AEMnBi2 and AEMnSb2 （AE = Ca, Sr, Ba, Yb, Eu） materials, suggest that they have a lot of exotic transport properties to be investigated, and that their high mobility might facilitate electronic device applications.

An Interacting Gauge Field Theoretic Model for Hodge Theory: Basic Canonical Brackets

We derive the basic canonical brackets amongst the creation and annihilation operators for a two(1 + 1)-dimensional(2D) gauge field theoretic model of an interacting Hodge theory where a U(1) gauge field(Aμ) is coupled with the fermionic Dirac fields(ψ andˉψ). In this derivation, we exploit the spin-statistics theorem, normal ordering and the strength of the underlying six infinitesimal continuous symmetries(and the concept of their generators) that are present in the theory. We do not use the definition of the canonical conjugate momenta(corresponding to the basic fields of the theory) anywhere in our whole discussion. Thus, we conjecture that our present approach provides an alternative to the canonical method of quantization for a class of gauge field theories that are physical examples of Hodge theory where the continuous symmetries(and corresponding generators) provide the physical realizations of the de Rham cohomological operators of differential geometry at the algebraic level.