Realization of Graphene Physics Through a Fully Optical System

The two-dimensional form of carbon known as graphene awaken the scientific community interest due to its exotic electronic properties, emerging from the behavior of electrons near the Fermi level as massless Dirac fermions in a (1+2)-dimensional “relativistic” space-time, which renders a bridge between condensed matter and relativistic quantum field theory. Optical systems are also prodigal in providing analogues of complex quantum mechanical systems. Here, it is proposed an optical realization capable of capturing the essential physics of the Dirac equation in (1+2)-D dimensions, simulating the properties of graphene through the use of lightwave technology.