Unconventional Integer Quantum Hall effect in graphene

Monolayer graphite films, or graphene, have quasiparticle excitations that can be described by 2+1 dimensional Dirac theory. We demonstrate that this produces an unconventional form of the quantized Hall conductivity $\sigma_{xy} = - (2 e^2/h)(2n+1)$ with $n=0,1,...$, that notably distinguishes graphene from other materials where the integer quantum Hall effect was observed. This unconventional quantization is caused by the quantum anomaly of the $n=0$ Landau level and was discovered in recent experiments on ultrathin graphite films.Comment: 4 pages, RevTeX4, 2 EPS figures; version accepted for publication in Physical Review Letter

Phase fluctuations and Non-Fermi Liquid Properties of 2D Fermi-system with attraction

The effect of static fluctuations in the phase of the order parameter on the normal and superconducting properties of a 2D system with attractive four-fermion interaction has been studied. Analytic expressions for the fermion Green function, its spectral density and the density of states are derived. The resultant single-particle Green function clearly demonstrates non-Fermi liquid behavior. The results show that as the temperature increases through the 2D critical temperature the width of the quasiparticle peaks broadens significantly. At the same time one retains the gap in quasiparticle spectrum. The spectral density for the dynamical fluctuations can also be obtained. Clearly the dynamical fluctuations fill the gap giving the observed pseudogap behaviour.Comment: 4 pages, LaTeX; invited paper presented at New^3SC-2, Las Vegas, USA, 199

Pseudogap phase formation in the crossover from Bose-Einstein condensation to BCS superconductivity in low dimensional systems

A phase diagram for a 2D metal with variable carrier density has been studied using the modulus-phase representation for the order parameter in a fully microscopic treatment. This amounts to splitting the degrees of freedom into neutral fermion and charged boson degrees of freedom. Although true long range order is forbidden in two dimensions, long range order for the neutral fermions is possible since this does not violate any continuous symmetry. The phase fluctuations associated with the charged degrees of freedom destroy long range order in the full system as expected. The presence of the neutral order parameter gives rise to new features in the superconducting condensate formation in low dimensional systems. The resulting phase diagram contains a new phase which lies above the superconducting (here Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless) phase and below the normal (Fermi-liquid) phase. We identify this phase with the pseudogap phase observed in underdoped high-$T_{c}$ superconducting compounds above their critical temperature. We also find that the phase diagram persists even in the presence of weak 3-dimensionalisation.Comment: 4 pages, LaTeX; invited paper presented at New^3SC-1, Baton Rouge, USA, 1998. To be published in Int.J.Mod.Phys.

Edge states on graphene ribbon in magnetic field: interplay between Dirac and ferromagnetic-like gaps

By combining analytic and numerical methods, edge states on a finite width graphene ribbon in a magnetic field are studied in the framework of low-energy effective theory that takes into account the possibility of quantum Hall ferromagnetism (QHF) gaps and dynamically generated Dirac-like masses. The analysis is done for graphene ribbons with both zigzag and armchair edges. The characteristic features of the spectrum of the edge states in both these cases are described. In particular, the conditions for the existence of the gapless edge states are established. Implications of these results for the interpretation of recent experiments are discussed.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures. v2: analysis for ribbons with armchair edges added, to appear in Phys. Rev.

On the universal AC optical background in graphene

The latest experiments have confirmed the theoretically expected universal value $\pi e^2/2h$ of the ac conductivity of graphene and have revealed departures of the quasiparticle dynamics from predictions for the Dirac fermions in idealized graphene. We present analytical expressions for the ac conductivity in graphene which allow one to study how it is affected by interactions, temperature, external magnetic field and the opening of a gap in the quasiparticle spectrum. We show that the ac conductivity of graphene does not necessarily give a metrologically accurate value of the von Klitzing constant $h/e^2$, because it is depleted by the electron-phonon interaction. In a weak magnetic field the ac conductivity oscillates around the universal value and the Drude peak evolves into a peak at the cyclotron frequency.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures; v2: to match New J. Phys. (Focus on Graphene issue