Methods for constructing parameter-dependent flat-band lattices

Abstract

We present two methods for constructing a flat-band (FB) system having a flat energy dispersion over the entire Brillouin zone within the tight-binding model, where the resulting Hamiltonian may not be easily obtained by existing methods based on a bipartite graph and line graph techniques. In the first method, we derive a set of conditions equivalent to the appearance of FBs for a given graph structure. This method allows parameters to be tuned so that systems with a small number of sites per unit cell have a FB. In the second method, we show that FB systems can be obtained by removing or adding sites to an existing FB system under specific rules. In particular, the site addition method enables us to construct multiple FB systems stemming from a single FB system. The FB system obtained by the second method has the characteristic that the component ratios in the FB eigenstate are partially common to the original system. We illustrate how lattices having a FB can be constructed by applying the latter method starting from an existing lattice such as a kagome lattice, demonstrating that a wide variety of lattices can possess a FB in the band structure.