We study the electronic properties of twisted bilayers graphene in the tight-binding approximation. The interlayer hopping amplitude is modeled by a function, which depends not only on the distance between two carbon atoms, but also on the positions
of neighboring atoms as well. Using the Lanczos algorithm for the numerical evaluation of eigenvalues of large sparse matrices, we calculate the bilayer single-electron spectrum for commensurate twist angles in the range $1^{circ}lesssimthetalesssim30^{circ}$. We show that at certain angles $theta$ greater than $theta_{c}approx1.89^{circ}$ the electronic spectrum acquires a finite gap, whose value could be as large as $80$ meV. However, in an infinitely large and perfectly clean sample the gap as a function of $theta$ behaves non-monotonously, demonstrating exponentially-large jumps for very small variations of $theta$. This sensitivity to the angle makes it impossible to predict the gap value for a given sample, since in experiment $theta$ is always known with certain error. To establish the connection with experiments, we demonstrate that for a system of finite size $tilde L$ the gap becomes a smooth function of the twist angle. If the sample is infinite, but disorder is present, we expect that the electron mean-free path plays the same role as $tilde L$. In the regime of small angles $theta<theta_c$, the system is a metal with a well-defined Fermi surface which is reduced to Fermi points for some values of $theta$. The density of states in the metallic phase varies smoothly with $theta$.
It is well-known that, generically, the one-dimensional interacting fermions cannot be described in terms of the Fermi liquid. Instead, they present different phenomenology, that of the Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid: the Landau quasiparticles are ill-def
ined, and the fermion occupation number is continuous at the Fermi energy. We demonstrate that suitable fine-tuning of the interaction between fermions can stabilize a peculiar state of one-dimensional matter, which is dissimilar to both the Tomonaga-Luttinger and Fermi liquids. We propose to call this state a quasi-Fermi liquid. Technically speaking, such liquid exists only when the fermion interaction is irrelevant (in the renormalization group sense). The quasi-Fermi liquid exhibits the properties of both the Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid and the Fermi liquid. Similar to the Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid, no finite-momentum quasiparticles are supported by the quasi-Fermi liquid; on the other hand, its fermion occupation number demonstrates finite discontinuity at the Fermi energy, which is a hallmark feature of the Fermi liquid. Possible realization of the quasi-Fermi liquid with the help of cold atoms in an optical trap is discussed.
This brief review discusses electronic properties of mesoscopic graphene-based structures. These allow controlling the confinement and transport of charge and spin; thus, they are of interest not only for fundamental research, but also for applicatio
ns. The graphene-related topics covered here are: edges, nanoribbons, quantum dots, $pn$-junctions, $pnp$-structures, and quantum barriers and waveguides. This review is partly intended as a short introduction to graphene mesoscopics.
We investigate the electronic band structure of an undoped graphene armchair nanoribbon. We demonstrate that such nanoribbon always has a gap in its electronic spectrum. Indeed, even in the situations where simple single-electron calculations predict
a metallic dispersion, the system is unstable with respect to the deformation of the carbon-carbon bonds dangling at the edges of the armchair nanoribbon. The edge bonds deformation couples electron and hole states with equal momentum. This coupling opens a gap at the Fermi level. In a realistic sample, however, it is unlikely that this instability could be observed in its pure form. Namely, since chemical properties of the dangling carbon atoms are different from chemical properties of the atoms inside the sample (for example, the atoms at the edge have only two neighbours, besides additional non-carbon atoms might be attached to passivate unpaired covalent carbon bonds), it is very probable that the bonds at the edge are deformed due to chemical interactions. This chemically-induced modification of the nanoribbons edges can be viewed as an effective field biasing our predicted instability in a particular direction. Yet by disordering this field (e.g., through random substitution of the radicals attached to the edges) we may tune the system back to the critical regime and vary the electronic properties of the system. For example, we show that electrical transport through a nanoribbon is strongly affected by such disorder.
