12,299 research outputs found
Inducing energy gaps in graphene monolayer and bilayer
In this paper we propose a mechanism for the induction of energy gaps in the
spectrum of graphene and its bilayer, when both these materials are covered
with water and ammonia molecules. The energy gaps obtained are within the range
20-30 meV, values compatible to those found in experimental studies of graphene
bilayer. We further show that the binding energies are large enough for the
adsorption of the molecules to be maintained even at room temperature
Optical Properties of Strained Graphene
The optical conductivity of graphene strained uniaxially is studied within
the Kubo-Greenwood formalism. Focusing on inter-band absorption, we analyze and
quantify the breakdown of universal transparency in the visible region of the
spectrum, and analytically characterize the transparency as a function of
strain and polarization. Measuring transmittance as a function of incident
polarization directly reflects the magnitude and direction of strain. Moreover,
direction-dependent selection rules permit identification of the lattice
orientation by monitoring the van-Hove transitions. These photoelastic effects
in graphene can be explored towards atomically thin, broadband optical
elements
Enhanced Optical Dichroism of Graphene Nanoribbons
The optical conductivity of graphene nanoribbons is analytical and exactly
derived. It is shown that the absence of translation invariance along the
transverse direction allows considerable intra-band absorption in a narrow
frequency window that varies with the ribbon width, and lies in the THz range
domain for ribbons 10-100nm wide. In this spectral region the absorption
anisotropy can be as high as two orders of magnitude, which renders the medium
strongly dichroic, and allows for a very high degree of polarization (up to
~85) with just a single layer of graphene. The effect is resilient to level
broadening of the ribbon spectrum potentially induced by disorder. Using a
cavity for impedance enhancement, or a stack of few layer nanoribbons, these
values can reach almost 100%. This opens a potential prospect of employing
graphene ribbon structures as efficient polarizers in the far IR and THz
frequencies.Comment: Revised version. 10 pages, 7 figure
The thermal conductivity of alternating spin chains
We study a class of integrable alternating (S1,S2) quantum spin chains with
critical ground state properties. Our main result is the description of the
thermal Drude weight of the one-dimensional alternating spin chain as a
function of temperature. We have identified the thermal current of the model
with alternating spins as one of the conserved currents underlying the
integrability. This allows for the derivation of a finite set of non-linear
integral equations for the thermal conductivity. Numerical solutions to the
integral equations are presented for specific cases of the spins S1 and S2. In
the low-temperature limit a universal picture evolves where the thermal Drude
weight is proportional to temperature T and central charge c.Comment: 15 pages, 1 figur
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