Bloch-Zener oscillations across a merging transition of Dirac points

Bloch oscillations are a powerful tool to investigate spectra with Dirac points. By varying band parameters, Dirac points can be manipulated and merged at a topological transition toward a gapped phase. Under a constant force, a Fermi sea initially in the lower band performs Bloch oscillations and may Zener tunnel to the upper band mostly at the location of the Dirac points. The tunneling probability is computed from the low-energy universal Hamiltonian describing the vicinity of the merging. The agreement with a recent experiment on cold atoms in an optical lattice is very good.     

Band structures of symmetrical graphene superlattice with cells of three regions

We study the electronic band structures of massless Dirac fermions in symmetrical graphene superlattice with cells of three regions. opening gaps and additional Dirac points. Finally, we inspect the potential effect on minibands, the anisotropy of group velocity and the energy bands contours near Dirac points. We also discuss the evolution of gap edges and cutoff region near the vertical Dirac points.     

On Dirac Physical Measures for Transitive Flows

We discuss some examples of smooth transitive flows with physical measures supported at fixed points. We give some conditions under which stopping a flow at a point will create a Dirac physical measure at that indifferent fixed point. Using the Anosov-Katok method, we construct transitive flows on surfaces with the only ergodic invariant probabilities being Dirac measures at hyperbolic fixed points. When there is only one such point, the corresponding Dirac measure is necessarily the only physical measure with full basin of attraction. Using an example due to Hu and Young, we also construct a transitive flow on a three-dimensional compact manifold without boundary, with the only physical measure the average of two Dirac measures at two hyperbolic fixed points.     

Magnetic Kronig-Penney-type graphene superlattices: finite energy Dirac points with anisotropic velocity renormalization

We study the energy band structure of magnetic graphene superlattices with delta-function magnetic barriers and zero average magnetic field. The dispersion relation obtained using the T-matrix approach shows the emergence of an infinite number of Dirac-like points at finite energies, while the original Dirac point is still located at the same place as that for pristine graphene. The carrier group velocity at the original Dirac point is isotropically renormalized, but at finite energy Dirac points it is generally anisotropic. An asymmetry in the width between the wells and the barriers of the periodic potential induces a shift of the original Dirac point in the zero-energy plane, keeping the velocity renormalization isotropic.     

Strain induced shift of Dirac points and the pseudo-magnetic field in graphene

We prove that the strain induced shift of the Dirac points in graphene is a curl field if the strain is nonuniform. This curl field provides a geometrical explanation of the strain induced pseudo-magnetic field. We also prove that the Dirac points must be confined within two triangles, each one having one-eighth the area of the Brillouin zone.     

Robust and intrinsic type-III nodal points in a diamond-like lattice

An ideal type-III nodal point is generated by crossing a completely flat band and a dispersive band along a certain momentum direction. To date, the type-III nodal points found in two-dimensional (2D) materials have been mostly accidental and random rather than ideal cases, and no one mentions what kind of lattice can produce ideal nodal points. Here, we propose that ideal type-III nodal points can be obtained in a diamond-like lattice. The flat bands in the lattice originate from destructive interference of wavefunctions, and thus are intrinsic and robust. Moreover, the specific lattice can be realized in some 2D carbon networks, such as T-graphene and its derivatives. All the carbon structures possess type-III Dirac points. In two of the structures, consisting of triangular carbon rings, the type-III Dirac points are located just on the Fermi level and the Fermi surface is very clean. Our research not only opens a door to finding the ideal type-III Dirac points, but also provides 2D materials for exploring their physical properties experimentally.     

Engineering the electronic structure of graphene superlattices via Fermi velocity modulation

Graphene superlattices have attracted much research interest in the last years, since it is possible to manipulate the electronic properties of graphene in these structures. It has been verified that extra Dirac points appear in the electronic structure of the system. The electronic structure in the vicinity of these points has been studied for a gapless and gapped graphene superlattice and for a graphene superlattice with a spatially modulated energy gap. In each case a different behavior was obtained. In this work we show that via Fermi velocity engineering it is possible to tune the electronic properties of a graphene superlattice to match all the previous cases studied. We also obtained new features of the system never observed before, reveling that the electronic structure of graphene is very sensitive to the modulation of the Fermi velocity. The results obtained here are relevant for the development of novel graphene-based electronic devices.     

Manipulation of Dirac points in graphene-like crystals

We review different scenarios for the motion and merging of Dirac points in 2D crystals. These different types of merging can be classified according to a winding number (a topological Berry phase) attached to each Dirac point. For each scenario, we calculate the Landau level spectrum and show that it can be quantitatively described by a semiclassical quantization rule for the constant energy areas. This quantization depends on how many Dirac points are enclosed by these areas. We also emphasize that different scenarios are characterized by different numbers of topologically protected zero energy Landau levels.     

Reflection-free one-way edge modes in a gyromagnetic photonic crystal

We point out that electromagnetic one-way edge modes analogous to quantum Hall edge states, originally predicted by Raghu and Haldane in 2D photonic crystals possessing Dirac point-derived band gaps, can appear in more general settings. We show that the TM modes in a gyromagnetic photonic crystal can be formally mapped to electronic wave functions in a periodic electromagnetic field, so that the only requirement for the existence of one-way edge modes is that the Chern number for all bands below a gap is nonzero. In a square-lattice yttrium-iron-garnet crystal operating at microwave frequencies, which lacks Dirac points, time-reversal breaking is strong enough that the effect should be easily observable. For realistic material parameters, the edge modes occupy a 10% band gap. Numerical simulations of a one-way waveguide incorporating this crystal show 100% transmission across strong defects.     

Algebraic spinors and directed random walks in the McKane-Parisi-Sourlas theorem

We present the Dirac propagator as a random walk on anS ^D–1 sphere for Majorana spinors, even spinor space, Dirac spinors, and Chevalley-Crumeyrolle spinors built from Minkowski space. We propose the Dirac propagator constructed from Chevalley-Crumeyrolle spinors as the generators of a Markov process such that McKane-Parisi-Sourlas theorem can be applied to calculate the expectation values for functions of local times.     

由正负磁单极对相互作用诱导的孤立狄拉克弦

基于三维旋量Gross-Pitaevskii(GP)方程研究在含时周期性外磁场作用下玻色-爱因斯坦凝聚体的动力学行为.结果显示,在含时周期外磁场的作用下,铁磁态自旋为1的玻色-爱因斯坦凝聚体将发生拓扑形变.当磁场的两个零点进入凝聚体后,自旋向上态的密度布居图在z轴上分别形成向上和向下的凸起.随着磁场的两个零点在凝聚体内逐渐重合,向上和向下的凸起被拉长,最终自旋向上态在z轴上呈线状分布,这与理论分析预测得到的孤立狄拉克弦相对应.最后,通过计算凝聚体的超流涡度给出磁单极的表征图.结果显示,凝聚体在磁场的两个零点处形成正、负磁单极对,分别对应着自旋向上态在z轴上向上和向下的凸起.随着磁场的两个零点重合,正、负磁单极对中的两条狄拉克弦逐渐靠近,之后大约经5 ms,它们完全相连,最终形成孤立的狄拉克弦.     

A special triple point in non-centrosymmetric materials Zn3In2Se6 and In2Se3

We predict that the non-centrosymmetric materials Zn₃In₂Se₆ and In₂Se₃ are the symmetry protected topological critical triple point metals based on first principles calculation. The dispersion along the Γ-Z line almost vanishes because of the particular crystal structure, and the strain along the c direction maybe drives accidental Dirac point to triple point. An effective theory is developed to describe accidental Dirac points and triple points, by which we calculate the surface states. These materials provide us a new platform to discuss the relation between the triple points and Dirac points.     

Dirac quasinormal modes of <Emphasis Type="Italic">D</Emphasis>-dimensional de Sitter spacetime

We find exact solutions to the Dirac equation in D-dimensional de Sitter spacetime. Using these solutions we analytically calculate the de Sitter quasinormal (QN) frequencies of the Dirac field. For the massive Dirac field this computation is similar to that previously published for massive fields of half-integer spin moving in four dimensions. However to calculate the QN frequencies of the massless Dirac field we must use distinct methods in odd and even dimensions, therefore the computation is different from that already known for other massless fields of integer spin.     

A universal Hamiltonian for motion and merging of Dirac points in a two-dimensional crystal

We propose a simple Hamiltonian to describe the motion and the merging of Dirac points in the electronic spectrum of two-dimensional electrons. This merging is a topological transition which separates a semi-metallic phase with two Dirac cones from an insulating phase with a gap. We calculate the density of states and the specific heat. The spectrum in a magnetic field B is related to the resolution of a Schrödinger equation in a double well potential. The Landau levels obey the general scaling law epsilon_n ∝B^2/3 f_n(Δ/B^2/3), and they evolve continuously from a \(\sqrt{n B}\) to a linear (n+1/2)B dependence, with a [(n+1/2)B]^2/3 dependence at the transition. The spectrum in the vicinity of the topological transition is very well described by a semiclassical quantization rule. This model describes continuously the coupling between valleys associated with the two Dirac points, when approaching the transition. It is applied to the tight-binding model of graphene and its generalization when one hopping parameteris varied. It remarkably reproduces the low field part of the Rammal-Hofstadter spectrum for the honeycomb lattice.     

Electrical and optoelectronic properties of graphene Schottky contact on Si-nanowire arrays with and without H2O2 treatment

We show a methodology for how to construct Dirac points that occur at the corners of Brillouin zone as the Photonic counterparts of graphene. We use a triangular lattice with circular holes on a silicon substrate to create a Coupled Photonic Crystal Resonator Array (CPCRA) which its cavity resonators play the role of carbon atoms in graphene. At first we draw the band structure of our CPCRA using the tight-binding method. For this purpose we first designed a cavity which its resonant frequency is approximately at the middle of the first H-polarization band gap of the basis triangular lattice. Then we obtained dipole modes and magnetic field distribution of this cavity using the Finite Element Method (FEM). Finally we drew the two bands that construct the Dirac points together with the frequency contour plots for both bands and compared with the Plane Wave Expansion (PWE) and FEM results to prove the existence of Dirac point in the H-polarization band structure of lattices with air holes.     

Wave Packets in Honeycomb Structures and Two-Dimensional Dirac Equations

In a recent article (Fefferman and Weinstein, in J Am Math Soc 25:1169–1220, 2012), the authors proved that the non-relativistic Schrödinger operator with a generic honeycomb lattice potential has conical (Dirac) points in its dispersion surfaces. These conical points occur for quasi-momenta, which are located at the vertices of the Brillouin zone, a regular hexagon. In this paper, we study the time-evolution of wave-packets, which are spectrally concentrated near such conical points. We prove that the large, but finite, time dynamics is governed by the two-dimensional Dirac equations.     

Nonlinear Topological Effects in Optical Coupled Hexagonal Lattice

Topological physics in optical lattices have attracted much attention in recent years. The nonlinear effects on such optical systems remain well-explored and a large amount of progress has been achieved. In this paper, under the mean-field approximation for a nonlinearly optical coupled boson–hexagonal lattice system, we calculate the nonlinear Dirac cone and discuss its dependence on the parameters of the system. Due to the special structure of the cone, the Berry phase (two-dimensional Zak phase) acquired around these Dirac cones is quantized, and the critical value can be modulated by interactions between different lattices sites. We numerically calculate the overall Aharonov-Bohm (AB) phase and find that it is also quantized, which provides a possible topological number by which we can characterize the quantum phases. Furthermore, we find that topological phase transition occurs when the band gap closes at the nonlinear Dirac points. This is different from linear systems, in which the transition happens when the band gap closes and reopens at the Dirac points.     

Conical Diffraction from Approximate Dirac Cone States in a Superhoneycomb Lattice

Superhoneycomb lattice is an edge‐centered honeycomb lattice that represents a hybrid fermionic and bosonic system. It contains pseudospin‐1/2 and pseudospin‐1 Dirac cones, as well as a flat band in its band structure. In this paper, we cut the superhoneycomb lattice along short‐bearded boundaries and obtain the corresponding band structure. The states very close to the Dirac points represent approximate Dirac cone states that can be used to observe conical diffraction during light propagation in the lattice. In comparison with the previous literature, this research is carried out using the continuous model, which brings new results and is simple, direct, accurate, and computationally efficient.     

Noninertial Effects on a Dirac Neutral Particle Inducing an Analogue of the Landau Quantization in the Cosmic String Spacetime

We discuss the behavior of external fields interacting with a Dirac neutral particle with a permanent electric dipole moment in order to achieve relativistic bound state solutions in a noninertial frame and in the presence of a topological defect spacetime. We show that the noninertial effects of the Fermi?CWalker reference frame induce a radial magnetic field even in the absence of magnetic charges, which is influenced by the topology of the cosmic string spacetime. We then discuss the conditions that the induced fields must satisfy to yield the relativistic bound states corresponding to the Landau?CHe?CMcKellar?CWilkens quantization in the cosmic string spacetime. Finally, we obtain the Dirac spinors for positive-energy solutions and the Gordon decomposition of the Dirac probability current.