Nernst effect and dimensionality in the quantum limit

Abstract

Nernst effect, the transverse voltage generated by a longitudinal thermal gradient in presence of magnetic field has recently emerged as a very sensitive, yet poorly understood, probe of electron organization in solids. Here we report on an experiment on graphite, a macroscopic stack of graphene layers, which establishes a fundamental link between dimensionality of an electronic system and its Nernst response. In sharp contrast with single-layer graphene, the Nernst signal sharply peaks whenever a Landau level meets the Fermi level. This points to the degrees of freedom provided by finite interlayer coupling as a source of enhanced thermoelectric response in the vicinity of the quantum limit. Since Landau quantization slices a three-dimensional Fermi surface, each intersection of a Landau level with the Fermi level modifies the Fermi surface topology. According to our results, the most prominent signature of such a topological phase transition emerges in the transverse thermoelectric response.