Space charge and screening in bilayer graphene

Abstract

Undoped bilayer graphene is a two-dimensional semimetal with a low-energy excitation spectrum that is parabolic in the momentum. As a result, the screening of an arbitrary external charge Ze is accompanied by a reconstruction of the ground state: valence band electrons (for Z > 0) are promoted to form a space charge around the charge while the holes leave the physical picture. The outcome is a flat neutral object resembling the regular atom except that for it is described by a strictly linear Thomas–Fermi theory. This theory also predicts that the bilayer’s static dielectric constant is the same as that of a two-dimensional electron gas in the long-wavelength limit.