In this work we present a tight-binding model that allows to describe with a minimal amount of parameters the band structure of exciton-polariton lattices. This model based on $s$ and $p$ non-orthogonal photonic orbitals faithfully reproduces experimental results reported for polariton graphene ribbons. We analyze in particular the influence of the non-orthogonality, the inter-orbitals interaction and the photonic spin-orbit coupling on the polarization and dispersion of bulk bands and edge states.
Artificial graphene consisting of honeycomb lattices other than the atomic layer of carbon has been shown to exhibit electronic properties similar to real graphene. Here, we reverse the argument to show that transport properties of real graphene can be captured by simulations using theoretical artificial graphene. To prove this, we first derive a simple condition, along with its restrictions, to achieve band structure invariance for a scalable graphene lattice. We then present transport measurements for an ultraclean suspended single-layer graphene pn junction device, where ballistic transport features from complex Fabry-Perot interference (at zero magnetic field) to the quantum Hall effect (at unusually low field) are observed and are well reproduced by transport simulations based on properly scaled single-particle tight-binding models. Our findings indicate that transport simulations for graphene can be efficiently performed with a strongly reduced number of atomic sites, allowing for reliable predictions for electric properties of complex graphene devices. We demonstrate the capability of the model by applying it to predict so-far unexplored gate-defined conductance quantization in single-layer graphene.
We propose atomic films of n-doped $gamma$-InSe as a platform for intersubband optics in the infrared (IR) and far infrared (FIR) range, coupled to out-of-plane polarized light. Depending on the film thickness (number of layers) of the InSe film these transitions span from $sim 0.7$ eV for bilayer to $sim 0.05$ eV for 15-layer InSe. We use a hybrid $mathbf{k} cdot mathbf{p}$ theory and tight-binding model, fully parametrized using density functional theory, to predict their oscillator strengths and thermal linewidths at room temperature.
We study coherent dynamics of tight-binding systems interacting with static and oscillating external fields. We consider Bloch oscillations and Wannier-Stark localization caused by dc fields, and compare these effects to dynamic localization that occurs in the presence of additional ac fields. Our analysis relies on quasienergy eigenstates, which take over the role of the usual Bloch waves. The widths of the quasienergy bands depend non-monotonically on the field parameters. If there is lattice disorder, the degree of the resulting Anderson localization is determined by the ratio of disorder strength and quasienergy band width. Therefore, the localization lengths can be controlled, within wide ranges, by adjusting the ac amplitude. Experimental realizations of our model systems are given by semiconductor superlattices in far-infrared laser fields, or by ultracold atoms in modulated standing light waves. In both cases the system parameters, as well as the field amplitudes and frequencies, are readily accessible to experimental control, suggesting these as highly attractive candidates for systematic study of localization phenomena.
We present an accurate textit{ab-initio} tight-binding hamiltonian for the transition-metal dichalcogenides, MoS$_2$, MoSe$_2$, WS$_2$, WSe$_2$, with a minimal basis (the textit{d} orbitals for the metal atoms and textit{p} orbitals for the chalcogen atoms) based on a transformation of the Kohn-Sham density function theory (DFT) hamiltonian to a basis of maximally localized Wannier functions (MLWF). The truncated tight-binding hamiltonian (TBH), with only on-site, first and partial second neighbor interactions, including spin-orbit coupling, provides a simple physical picture and the symmetry of the main band-structure features. Interlayer interactions between adjacent layers are modeled by transferable hopping terms between the chalcogen textit{p} orbitals. The full-range tight-binding hamiltonian (FTBH) can be reduced to hybrid-orbital k $cdot$ p effective hamiltonians near the band extrema that captures important low-energy excitations. These textit{ab-initio} hamiltonians can serve as the starting point for applications to interacting many-body physics including optical transitions and Berry curvature of bands, of which we give some examples.
The experimental study of edge states in atomically-thin layered materials remains a challenge due to the difficult control of the geometry of the sample terminations, the stability of dangling bonds and the need to measure local properties. In the case of graphene, localised edge modes have been predicted in zig-zag and bearded edges, characterised by flat dispersions connecting the Dirac points. Polaritons in semiconductor microcavities have recently emerged as an extraordinary photonic platform to emulate 1D and 2D Hamiltonians, allowing the direct visualization of the wavefunctions in both real- and momentum-space as well as of the energy dispersion of eigenstates via photoluminescence experiments. Here we report on the observation of edge states in a honeycomb lattice of coupled micropillars. The lowest two bands of this structure arise from the coupling of the lowest energy modes of the micropillars, and emulate the {pi} and {pi}* bands of graphene. We show the momentum space dispersion of the edge states associated to the zig-zag and bearded edges, holding unidimensional quasi-flat bands. Additionally, we evaluate polarisation effects characteristic of polaritons on the properties of these states.