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Optical Conductivity as a Probe of the Interaction-Driven Metal in Rhombohedral Trilayer Graphene
Vladimir Juričić1,2, Enrique Muñoz3, Rodrigo Soto-Garrido3
1Departamento de Física, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Casilla 110, Valparaíso 2340000, Chile.
Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland)
|November 11, 2022
Summary
Optical conductivity distinguishes metallic ground states in rhombohedral trilayer graphene (RTG). Different electronic phases, like valence-bond and bond-current states, show unique conductivity peaks, aiding experimental identification of exotic superconducting orders.
Area of Science:
- Condensed matter physics
- Materials science
- Quantum materials
Background:
- Van der Waals heterostructures, particularly rhombohedral trilayer graphene (RTG), are crucial for studying strongly correlated states.
- RTG exhibits diverse interaction-driven phases, including metallic states that can lead to exotic superconductivity upon doping.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how optical conductivity can differentiate between various candidate paramagnetic metallic ground states in RTG.
- To identify unique signatures for distinct electronic phases within RTG.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing low-energy Dirac theory to model the electronic properties of RTG.
- Analyzing the optical conductivity spectra corresponding to different proposed ground states.
Main Results:
- A fully gapped valence-bond state shows a single peak in optical conductivity.
- A bond-current state exhibits two distinct peaks as probing frequency increases.
- A rotational symmetry breaking charge-density wave displays minimal conductivity, independent of order parameter amplitude.
Conclusions:
- Optical conductivity serves as a powerful experimental probe to distinguish between competing ground states in RTG.
- The identified conductivity signatures provide clear experimental markers for identifying exotic superconducting orders and electronic phases in RTG.
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