No Arabic abstract
We develop a comprehensive theory for the effective dynamics of Bloch electrons based on symmetry. We begin with a scheme to systematically derive the irreducible representations (IRs) characterizing the Bloch functions. Starting from a tight-binding (TB) approach, we decompose the TB basis functions into localized symmetry-adapted atomic orbitals and crystal-periodic symmetry-adapted plane waves. Each of these subproblems is independent of the details of a particular crystal structure and it is largely independent of the other subproblem, hence permitting for each subproblem an independent universal solution. Taking monolayer MoS$_2$ and few-layer graphene as examples, we tabulate the symmetrized $p$ and $d$ orbitals as well as the symmetrized plane wave spinors for these systems. The symmetry-adapted basis functions block-diagonalize the TB Hamiltonian such that each block yields eigenstates transforming according to one of the IRs of the group of the wave vector $G_k$. For many crystal structures, it is possible to define multiple distinct coordinate systems such that for wave vectors $k$ at the border of the Brillouin zone the IRs characterizing the Bloch states depend on the coordinate system, i.e., these IRs of $G_k$ are not uniquely determined by the symmetry of a crystal structure. The different coordinate systems are related by a coordinate shift that results in a rearrangement of the IRs of $G_k$ characterizing the Bloch states. We illustrate this rearrangement with three coordinate systems for MoS$_2$ and tri-layer graphene. Using monolayer MoS$_2$ as an example, we combine the symmetry analysis of its bulk Bloch states with the theory of invariants to construct a generic multiband Hamiltonian for electrons near the $K$ point of the Brillouin zone. The Hamiltonian includes the effect of spin-orbit coupling, strain and external electric and magnetic fields.
Electronic Coulomb excitations in monolayer silicene are investigated by using the Lindhard dielectric function and a newly developed generalized tight-binding model (G-TBM). G-TBM simultaneously contains the atomic interactions, the spin-orbit coupling, the Coulomb interactions, and the various external fields at an arbitrary chemical potential. We exhibit the calculation results of the electrically tunable magnetoplasmons and the strong magnetic field modulation of plasmon behaviors. The two intriguing phenomena are well explained by determining the dominant transition channels in the dielectric function and through understanding the electron behavior under the multiple interactions (intrinsic and external). A further tunability of the plasmon features is demonstrated with the momentum transfer and the Fermi energy. The methodological strategy could be extended to several other 2D materials like germanene and stanene, and might open a pathway to search a better system in nanoplasmonic applications.
The longitudinal resistivity of two dimensional (2D) electrons placed in strong magnetic field is significantly reduced by applied electric field, an effect which is studied in a broad range of magnetic fields and temperatures in GaAs quantum wells with high electron density. The data are found to be in good agreement with theory, considering the strong nonlinearity of the resistivity as result of non-uniform spectral diffusion of the 2D electrons. Inelastic processes limit the diffusion. Comparison with the theory yields the inelastic scattering time of the two dimensional electrons. In the temperature range T=2-10(K) for overlapping Landau levels, the inelastic scattering rate is found to be proportional to T^2, indicating a dominant contribution of the electron-electron scattering to the inelastic relaxation. In a strong magnetic field, the nonlinear resistivity demonstrates scaling behavior, indicating a specific regime of electron heating of well-separated Landau levels. In this regime the inelastic scattering rate is found to be proportional to T^3, suggesting the electron-phonon scattering as the dominant mechanism of the inelastic relaxation.
Using the method of energy-level statistics, the localization properties of electrons moving in two dimensions in the presence of a perpendicular random magnetic field and additional random disorder potentials are investigated. For this model, extended states have recently been proposed to exist in the middle of the band. In contrast, from our calculations of the large-$s$ behavior of the nearest neighbor level spacing distribution $P(s)$ and from a finite size scaling analysis we find only localized states in the suggested energy and disorder range.
The orbital susceptibility for graphene is calculated exactly up to the first order with respect to the overlap integrals between neighboring atomic orbitals. The general and rigorous theory of orbital susceptibility developed in the preceding paper is applied to a model for graphene as a typical two-band model. It is found that there are contributions from interband, Fermi surface, and occupied states in addition to the Landau--Peierls orbital susceptibility. The relative phase between the atomic orbitals on the two sublattices related to the chirality of Dirac cones plays an important role. It is shown that there are some additional contributions to the orbital susceptibility that are not included in the previous calculations using the Peierls phase in the tight-binding model for graphene. The physical origin of this difference is clarified in terms of the corrections to the Peierls phase.
In recent years the physics of two-dimensional semiconductors was revived by the discovery of the class of transition metal dichalcogenides. In these systems excitons dominate the optical response in the visible range and open many perspectives for nonlinear spectroscopy. To describe the coherence and polarization dynamics of excitons after ultrafast excitation in these systems, we employ the Bloch equation model of a two-level system extended by a local field describing the exciton-exciton interaction. We calculate four-wave mixing signals and analyze the dependence of the temporal and spectral signals as a function of the delay between the exciting pulses. Exact analytical results obtained for the case of ultrafast ($delta$-shaped) pulses are compared to numerical solutions obtained for finite pulse durations. If two pulses are used to generate the nonlinear signal, characteristic spectral line splittings are restricted to short delays. When considering a three-pulse excitation the line splittings, induced by the local field effect, persist for long delays. All of the found features are instructively explained within the Bloch vector picture and we show how the exciton occupation dynamics govern the different four-wave mixing signals.