Elementary electronic excitations, which are due to the Coulomb-field scatterings, present the diverse phenomena in 3D, 2D, 1D-nanotube electron gases, graphene and carbon nanotubes. The critical mechanisms cover the dimension-dependent bare Coulomb
potentials, energy dispersions, and free/valence carrier density. They are responsible for the main features, the available excitation channels (the electron-hole regions), the joint van Hove singularities, the undamped/damped collective excitations at small/sufficiently high transferred momenta, the momentum dependences of plasmon frequencies (acoustic and optical modes), and their categories (the intraband and inter-pi-band plasmons). There exists certain significant similarities and difference among various systems. The (momentum/ angular momentum, frequency)-excitation phase diagrams are directly reflected in the propagation of plasma waves.
The generalized tight-binding model is developed to investigate the magneto-electronic properties in twisted bilayer graphene system. All the interlayer and intralayer atomic interactions are included in the Moire superlattice. The twisted bilayer gr
aphene system is a zero-gap semiconductor with double-degenerate Dirac-cone structures, and saddle-point energy dispersions appearing at low energies for cases of small twisting angles. There exist rich and unique magnetic quantization phenomena, in which many Landau-level subgroups are induced due to specific Moire zone folding through modulating the various stacking angles. The Landau-level spectrum shows hybridized characteristics associated with the those in monolayer, and AA $&$ AB stackings. The complex relations among the different sublattices on the same and different graphene layers are explored in detail.
The electronic properties and optical excitations are investigated in the geometry- and field-modulated bilayer graphene systems, respectively, by using the tight-binding model and Kubo formula. The stacking symmetry of bilayer graphene can be manipu
lated by varying the width and position of domain wall (DW) within two normally stacked graphene. All the layer-dependent atomic interactions are taken into consideration under external fields. The modulation of stacking configuration gives rise to significant effects of zone folding on energy subbands, subenvelope wave functions, density of states, and optical absorption spectra. This study clearly illustrates the diverse 1D phenomena in the energy band structure and absorption spectra; the DW- and $V_z$-created dramatic variations are comprehensively explored under accurate calculations and delicate analysis. Concise physical pictures are proposed to give further insight into the quasi-1D behaviors.
The diverse quantization phenomena in 2D condensed-matter systems, being due to a uniform perpendicular magnetic field and the geometry-created lattice symmetries, are the focuses of this book. They cover the diversified magneto-electronic properties
, the various magneto-optical selection rules, the unusual quantum Hall conductivities, and the single- and many-particle magneto-Coulomb excitations. The rich and unique behaviors are clearly revealed in few-layer graphene systems with the distinct stacking configurations, the stacking-modulated structures, and the silicon-doped lattices, bilayer silicene/germanene systems with the bottom-top and bottom-bottom buckling structures, monolayer and bilayer phosphorene systems, and quantum topological insulators. The generalized tight-binding model, the static and dynamic Kubo formulas, and the random-phase approximation, are developed/modified to thoroughly explore the fundamental properties and propose the concise physical pictures. The different high-resolution experimental measurements are discussed in detail, and they are consistent with the theoretical predictions.
The lower-symmetry trilayer AAB-stacked graphene exhibits rich electronic properties and thus diverse Coulomb excitations. Three pairs of unusual valence and conduction bands create nine available interband excitations for the undoped case, in which
the imaginary (real) part of the polarizability shows 1D square root asymmetric peaks and 2D shoulder structures (pairs of antisymmetric peaks and logarithm type symmetric peaks). Moreover, the low frequency acoustic plasmon, being revealed as a prominent peak in the energy loss spectrum, can survive in a narrow gap system with the large-density-of-states from the valence band. This type of plasmon mode is similar to that in a narrow gap carbon nanotube. However, the decisive mechanism governing this plasmon is the intraband conduction state excitations. Its frequency, intensity and critical momentum exhibit a non-monotonic dependence on the Fermi energy. The well-defined electron-hole excitation boundaries and the higher frequency optical plasmons are transformed by varying the Fermi energy. There remain substantial differences between the electronic properties of trilayer AAB, ABC, AAA and ABA graphene stackings.
The layer-based random-phase approximation is further developed to investigate electronic excitations in tri-layer ABC-stacked graphene. All the layer-dependent atomic interactions and Coulomb interactions are included in the dynamic charge screening
. There exist rich and unique (momentum, frequency)-excitation phase diagrams, in which the complex single-particle excitations and five kinds of plasmon modes, are dominated by the unusual energy bands and doping carrier densities. The latter frequently experience the significant Landau damping due to the former, leading to the coexistence/destruction in the energy loss spectra. Specifically, the dispersion of the only acoustic plasmon in pristine case is dramatically changed from linear into quadratic even at very low doping.
A systematic review is made for the AA-, AB- and ABC-stacked graphites. The generalized tight-binding model, accompanied with the effective-mass approximation and the Kubo formula, is developed to investigate electronic and optical properties in the
presence/absence of a uniform magnetic field. The unusual electronic properties cover the stacking-dependent Dirac-cone structures, the significant energy widths along the stacking direction, the Landau subbands (LSs) crossing the Fermi level, the $B_0$-dependent LS energy spectra with crossings and anti-crossings, and the monolayer- or bilayer-like Landau wavefunctions. There exist the configuration-created special structures in density of states and optical spectra. Three kinds of graphites quite differ from one another in the available inter-LS excitation channels, including the number, frequency, intensity and structures of absorption peaks. The dimensional crossover presents the main similarities and differences between graphites and graphenes; furthermore, the quantum confinement enriches the magnetic quantization phenomena in carbon nanotubes and graphene nanoribbons. The cooperative/competitive relations among the interlayer atomic interactions, dimensions and magnetic quantization are responsible for the diversified essential properties. Part of theoretical predictions are consistent with the experimental measurements.
Optical properties of graphene are explored by using the generalized tight-binding model. The main features of spectral structures, the form, frequency, number and intensity, are greatly enriched by the complex relationship among the interlayer atomi
c interactions, the magnetic quantization and the Coulomb potential energy. Absorption spectra have the shoulders, asymmetric peaks and logarithmic peaks, coming from the band-edge states of parabolic dispersions, the constant-energy loops and the saddle points, respectively. The initial forbidden excitation region is only revealed in even-layer AA stacking systems. Optical gaps and special structures can be generated by an electric field. The delta-function-like structures in magneto-optical spectra, which present the single, twin and double peaks, are associated with the symmetric, asymmetric and splitting Landau-level energy spectra, respectively. The single peaks due to the non-tilted Dirac cones exhibit the nearly uniform intensity. The AAB stacking possesses more absorption structures, compared to the other stackings. The diverse magneto-optical selection rules are mainly determined by the well-behaved, perturbed and undefined Landau modes. The frequent anti-crossings in the magnetic- and electric-field-dependent energy spectra lead to the increase of absorption peaks and the reduced intensities. Part of theoretical calculations are consistent with the experimental measurements, and the others need further detailed examinations.
We use the tight-binding model and the random-phase approximation to investigate the intrinsic plasmon in silicene. At finite temperatures, an undamped plasmon is generated from the interplay between the intraband and the interband-gap transitions. T
he extent of the plasmon existence range in terms of momentum and temperature, which is dependent on the size of single-particle-excitation gap, is further tuned by applying a perpendicular electric field. The plasmon becomes damped in the interband-excitation region. A low damped zone is created by the field-induced spin split. The field-dependent plasmon spectrum shows a strong tunability in plasmon intensity and spectral bandwidth. This could make silicene a very suitable candidate for plasmonic applications.
We derive the generalized magneto-absorption spectra for curved graphene nanorib- bons and carbon nanotubes by using the Peierls tight-binding model. The main spectral characteristics and the optical selection rules result from the cooperative or com
petitive relationships between the geometric structure and a magnetic field. In curved ribbons, the dominant selection rule remains unchanged during the variation of the curvature. When the arc angle increases, the prominent peaks are split, with some even vanishing as the angle exceeds a critical value. In carbon nanotubes, the angular-momentum coupling induces extra selection rules, of which more are revealed due to the increase of either (both) of the factors: tube diameter and field strength. Particularly once the two factors exceed certain critical values, the optical spectra could reflect the quasi-Landau-level structures. The identifying features of the spec- tra provide insight into optical excitations for curved systems with either open or closed boundary condition.
