Massless Dirac Fermion System Research Articles

Chiral Anomalies in Organic Dirac Semimetals

A three-dimensional massless Dirac fermion system exhibiting broken chiral symmetry was successfully realized in organic conductor α-(BEDT-TTF)2I3 under high pressures. Our study detected the chiral anomaly-induced negative magnetoresistance and planar Hall effects and opened new avenues for further advancements in the field.

Observations of ν = 1 Quantum Hall Effect and Inter-Band Effects of Magnetic Fields on Hall Conductivity in Organic Massless Dirac Fermion System α-(BETS)2I3 under Pressure

We investigated the magnetoresistance and the Hall effect in an organic massless Dirac fermion system α-(BETS)2I3 under pressure. The Fermi energy of this system is slightly far away from the Dirac points, and thus the ν = 1 quantum Hall state is realized in a low magnetic field at low temperatures. Moreover, the experimental formula for chemical potential as a function of temperature is clarified. We succeeded in detecting the inter-band effects of the magnetic field on the Hall conductivity when the chemical potential passes the Dirac points.

Thermoelectric Effect at Quantum Limit in Two-Dimensional Organic Dirac Fermion System with Zeeman Splitting

The thermoelectric effect in a two-dimensional (2D) massless Dirac fermion (DF) system at the quantum limit is discussed to verify the prediction of high-performance thermopower in an organic conductor \alpha-(BEDT-TTF)2I3. Because of relatively large Zeeman splitting in \alpha-(BEDT-TTF)2I3, the boundless increase of thermopower at high magnetic fields, predicted without the Zeeman effect, is hardly expected, whereas there appears to be a broad local maximum. This is characteristic of 2D DF systems with Zeeman splitting and is recognized in the previous experiment. In contrast to 3D Dirac/Weyl semimetals with robust gapless features, it might be difficult to realize high-performance thermopower in real 2D DF systems under high magnetic fields.

Exploring the Quantum Phase Transition of Strongly Correlated Massless Dirac Fermions

Researchers have shown that a massless Dirac fermion system exhibits a quantum phase transition in the presence of strong electronic correlations.

Two-loop photon self-energy in pseudoquantum electrodynamics in the presence of a conducting surface

In the present paper, we investigate the influence of a grounded perfectly conducting surface on the photon self-energy of a $2+1\mathrm{D}$ system of massless Dirac fermions, whose electron interaction is described by pseudoquantum electrodynamics. We calculate the temporal component of the polarization tensor up to 2-loop perturbation order in the presence of the conducting surface and, applying the Kubo formula, we obtain the longitudinal and optical conductivities of such system. When the distance between the system and the plate tends to infinity, we recover the correspondent results found in the literature. Since pseudoquantum electrodynamics proved to give a good description of the transport properties of graphene, our results can be useful as an alternative way to control the longitudinal and optical conductivities of this material.

Quantum Phase Transition in Organic Massless Dirac Fermion System α-(BEDT-TTF)2I3 under Pressure

We investigate the effect of strong electronic correlation on the massless Dirac fermion system, $\alpha$-(BEDT-TTF)$_2$I$_3$, under pressure. In this organic salt, one can control the electronic correlation by changing pressure and access the quantum critical point between the massless Dirac fermion phase and the charge ordering phase. We theoretically study the electronic structure of this system by applying the slave-rotor theory and find that the Fermi velocity decreases without creating a mass gap upon approaching the quantum critical point from the massless Dirac fermion phase. We show that the pressure-dependence of the Fermi velocity is in good quantitative agreement with the results of the experiment where the Fermi velocity is determined by the analysis of the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in the doped samples. Our result implies that the massless Dirac fermion system exhibits a quantum phase transition without creating a mass gap even in the presence of strong electronic correlations.

Light-induced anomalous Hall effect in massless Dirac fermion systems and topological insulators with dissipation

Employing the quantum Liouville equation with phenomenological dissipation, we investigate the transport properties of massless and massive Dirac fermion systems that mimics graphene and topological insulators, respectively. The massless Dirac fermion system does not show an intrinsic Hall effect, but it shows a Hall current under the presence of circularly-polarized laser fields as a nature of a optically-driven nonequilibrium state. Based on the microscopic analysis, we find that the light-induced Hall effect mainly originates from the imbalance of photocarrier distribution in momentum space although the emergent Floquet–Berry curvature also has a non-zero contribution. We further compute the Hall transport property of the massive Dirac fermion system with an intrinsic Hall effect in order to investigate the interplay of the intrinsic topological contribution and the extrinsic light-induced population contribution. As a result, we find that the contribution from the photocarrier population imbalance becomes significant in the strong field regime and it overcomes the intrinsic contribution. This finding clearly demonstrates that intrinsic transport properties of materials can be overwritten by external driving and may open a way to ultrafast optical-control of transport properties of materials.

Specific heat and pairing of Dirac composite fermions in the half-filled Landau level

A recent proposal argues that an alternate description of the half-filled Landau level is a theory of massless Dirac fermions. We examine the possibility of pairing of these Dirac fermions by numerically solving the coupled Eliashberg equations unlike our previous calculation (Wang and Chakravarty, 2016). In addition, vertex corrections are calculated to be zero from the Ward identity. We find that pairing is possible in non-zero angular momentum channels; only differences are minor numerical shifts. As before, the pairing leads to the gapped Pfaffian and anti-Pfaffian states. However, in our approximation scheme, pairing is not possible in the putative particle–hole symmetric state for ℓ=0 angular momentum. The specific heat at low temperatures of a system of massless Dirac fermions interacting with a transverse gauge field, expected to be relevant for the half-filled Landau level, is calculated. Using the Luttinger formula, it is found to be ∝TlnT in the leading low temperature limit, due to the exchange of transverse gauge bosons. The result agrees with the corresponding one in the nonrelativistic composite fermion theory of Halperin, Lee and Read of the half-filled Landau level.

Energy quantization at the three-quarter Dirac point in a magnetic field

The quantization of the energy in a magnetic field (Landau quantization) at a three-quarter Dirac point is studied theoretically. The three-quarter Dirac point is realized in the system of massless Dirac fermions with the critically tilted Dirac cone in one direction, where a linear term disappears and a quadratic term $\alpha_2 q_x^2$ with aconstant $\alpha_2$ plays an important role. The energy is obtained as $E_n \propto \alpha_2^{\frac{3}{5}} (n B)^{\frac{4}{5}}$, where $n=1, 2, 3, \dots$, by means of numerically and analytically solving the differential equation, as well as by the semiclassical quantization rule. The existence of the $n=0$ state is studied by introducing the energy gap due to the inversion-symmetry-breaking term, and it is obtained that the $n=0$ state exists in one of a pair of three-quarter Dirac points, depending on the direction of the magnetic field when the energy gap is finite.

Design of 2D massless Dirac fermion systems and quantum spin Hall insulators based on sp\u2013sp2 carbon sheets

Grapheneis a massless Dirac fermion system, featuring Dirac points in momentum space. It was also first identified as a quantum spin Hall (QSH) insulator when considering spin–orbit coupling (SOC), which opens a band gap at the Dirac points. This discovery has initiated new research efforts to study the QSH effect, towards its application for quantum computing and spintronics. Although the QSH effect has been observed in HgTe quantum wells, the SOC strength of graphene is too small (~1 µeV) to induce the topological insulator phase in an experimentally achievable temperature regime. Here, we perform a systematic atomistic simulation to design two-dimensional sp–sp2 hybrid carbon sheets to discover new Dirac systems, hosting the QSH phase. 21 out of 31 newly discovered carbon sheets are identified as Dirac fermion systems without SOC, distinct from graphene in the number, shape, and position of the Dirac cones occurring in the Brillouin zone. Moreover, we find 19 out of the 21 new Dirac fermion systems become QSH insulators with a sizable SOC gap enhanced up to an order of meV, thus allowing for the QSH effect at experimentally accessible temperatures. In addition, based on the 26 Dirac fermion systems, we make a connection between the number of Dirac points without SOC and the resultant QSH phase in the presence of SOC. Our findings present new prospects for the design of topological materials with desired properties.

Dynamical mass generation in pseudoquantum electrodynamics with four-fermion interactions

We describe dynamical symmetry breaking in a system of massless Dirac fermions with both electromagnetic and four-fermion interactions in (2+1) dimensions. The former is described by the Pseudo Quantum Electrodynamics (PQED) and the latter is given by the so-called Gross-Neveu action. We apply the Hubbard-Stratonovich transformation and the large$-N_f$ expansion in our model to obtain a Yukawa action. Thereafter, the presence of a symmetry broken phase is inferred from the non-perturbative Schwinger-Dyson equation for the electron propagator. This is the physical solution whenever the fine-structure constant is larger than a critical value $\alpha_c(D N_f)$. In particular, we obtain the critical coupling constant $\alpha_c\approx 0.36$ for $D N_f=8$., where $D=2,4$ corresponds to the SU(2) and SU(4) cases, respectively, and $N_f$ is the flavor number. Our results show a decreasing of the critical coupling constant in comparison with the case of pure electromagnetic interaction, thus yielding a more favorable scenario for the occurrence of dynamical symmetry breaking. For two-dimensional materials,in application in condensed matter systems, it implies an energy gap at the Dirac points or valleys of the honeycomb lattice.

Schwinger pair creation in Dirac semimetals in the presence of external magnetic and electric fields

We discuss the Schwinger pair creation process for the system of massless Dirac fermions in the presence of constant external magnetic and electric fields. The pair production rate remains finite unlike the vacuum decay rate. In the recently discovered Dirac semimetals, where the massless Dirac fermions emerge, this pair production may be observed experimentally through the transport properties. We estimate its contribution to the ordinary conductivity of the semimetals.

Transition from a Metal to a Massless-Dirac-Fermion Phase in an Organic Conductor Investigated by13C NMR

The θ-(BEDT-TTF)2I3 system is suggested to be the second organic system of massless Dirac fermions, which emerge from the metallic phase at a pressure exceeding 5 kbar. We have performed 13C NMR measurements on a single crystal of θ-(BEDT-TTF)2I3 under variable pressure across the critical pressure, 5 kbar. The Knight shift and spin–lattice relaxation rate show that a metallic state with an NMR enhancement factor of 2.2–2.4 at ambient pressure persists up to the critical pressure of 5 kbar. Above that, a marked spectral change indicative of a first-order phase transition is found. The angular dependence of NMR spectra indicates a structural phase transition from the θ-type molecular arrangement to the α-type one, which hosts the tilted Dirac cone.

Angle dependent interlayer magnetoresistance in multilayer graphene stacks

Interlayer magnetoresistance (ILMR) effect is explored in a vertical stack of weakly coupled multilayer graphene as grown by chemical vapor deposition. This effect has been characterized as a function of temperature and tilt angle of the magnetic field with respect to the interlayer current. To our knowledge, this is the first experimental report on angle dependent ILMR effect in graphitic systems. Our data agree qualitatively with the existing theories of ILMR in multilayer massless Dirac Fermion systems. However, a sharper change in ILMR has been observed as the tilt angle of the magnetic field is varied. A physical explanation of this effect is proposed, which is consistent with our experimental scenario.

Chiral-symmetry breaking in pseudoquantum electrodynamics at finite temperature

We use the Schwinger-Dyson equations in the presence of a thermal bath, in order to study chiral symmetry breaking in a system of massless Dirac fermions interacting through pseudo quantum electrodynamics (PQED3), in (2+1) dimensions. We show that there is a critical temperature $T_c$, below which chiral symmetry is broken, and a corresponding mass gap is dynamically generated, provided the coupling is above a certain, temperature dependent, critical value $\alpha_c$. The ratio between the energy gap and the critical temperature for this model is estimated to be $2 \pi$. These results are confirmed by analytical and numerical investigations of the Schwinger-Dyson equation for the electron. In addition, we calculate the first finite-temperature corrections to the static Coulomb interaction. The relevance of this result in the realm of condensed matter systems, like graphene, is briefly discussed.

Anisotropic spin motive force in multi-layered Dirac fermion system, α-(BEDT-TTF)2I3

We investigate the anisotropic spin motive force in α-(BEDT-TTF)2I3, which is a multi-layered massless Dirac fermion system under pressure. Assuming the interlayer antiferromagnetic interaction and the interlayer anisotropic ferromagnetic interaction, we numerically examine the spin ordered state of the ground state using the steepest descent method. The anisotropic interaction leads to the anisotropic spin ordered state. We calculate the spin motive force produced by the anisotropic spin texture. The result quantitatively agrees with the experiment.

Effect of Interlayer Spin-Flip Tunneling for Interlayer Magnetoresistance in Multilayer Massless Dirac Fermion Systems

We investigate the effect of the interlayer spin-flip tunneling for the interlayer magnetoresistance under magnetic fields in α-(BEDT-TTF)2I3, which is a multilayer massless Dirac fermion system under pressure. The mean field of the spin-flip correlation associated with the interlayer Coulomb interaction enables the interlayer spin-flip tunneling. Assuming the non-vertical interlayer spin-flip tunneling, we calculate the interlayer magnetoresistance using the Kubo formula. The crossover magnetic field, at which the interlayer magnetoresistance changes from positive to negative is shifted by the Zeeman energy and in good agreement with the experiment.

High‐Quality Three‐Dimensional Nanoporous Graphene

AbstractWe report three‐dimensional (3D) nanoporous graphene with preserved 2D electronic properties, tunable pore sizes, and high electron mobility for electronic applications. The complex 3D network comprised of interconnected graphene retains a 2D coherent electron system of massless Dirac fermions. The transport properties of the nanoporous graphene show a semiconducting behavior and strong pore‐size dependence, together with unique angular independence. The free‐standing, large‐scale nanoporous graphene with 2D electronic properties and high electron mobility holds great promise for practical applications in 3D electronic devices.

High‐Quality Three‐Dimensional Nanoporous Graphene

We report three-dimensional (3D) nanoporous graphene with preserved 2D electronic properties, tunable pore sizes, and high electron mobility for electronic applications. The complex 3D network comprised of interconnected graphene retains a 2D coherent electron system of massless Dirac fermions. The transport properties of the nanoporous graphene show a semiconducting behavior and strong pore-size dependence, together with unique angular independence. The free-standing, large-scale nanoporous graphene with 2D electronic properties and high electron mobility holds great promise for practical applications in 3D electronic devices.

Spin-Ordered States in Multilayer Massless Dirac Fermion Systems

We investigate the spin-ordered states in multilayer massless Dirac fermion systems under magnetic fields, in which the intralayer interaction is ferromagnetic owing to the exchange interaction, while the interlayer interaction is antiferromagnetic arising from the interlayer hopping and the on-site Coulomb repulsion. The possible spin-ordered states are examined within the mean field theory, and we apply it to alpha-(BEDT-TTF)2I3, which is a multilayer massless Dirac fermion system under pressure. In the weak interlayer coupling regime the system exhibits a ferromagnetically spin-ordered state with the effective Zeeman g-factor less than two contrasting to that observed in the single-layer graphene.