Horner, MD orcid.org/0000-0003-1381-0785 and Pachos, JK orcid.org/0000-0002-9775-4436 (2021) Edge density of bulk states due to relativity. Physical Review B, 104 (8). L081402. ISSN 2469-9950
Abstract
The boundaries of quantum materials can host a variety of exotic effects such as topologically robust edge states or anyonic quasiparticles. Here, we show that fermionic systems such as graphene that admit a low-energy Dirac description can exhibit counterintuitive relativistic effects at their boundaries. As an example, we consider carbon nanotubes and demonstrate that relativistic bulk spinor states can have nonzero charge density on the boundaries, in contrast to the sinusoidal distribution of nonrelativistic wave functions that are necessarily zero at the boundaries. This unusual property of relativistic spinors is complementary to the linear energy dispersion relation exhibited by Dirac materials and can influence their coupling to leads, transport properties, or their response to external fields.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | ©2021 American Physical Society. This is an author produced version of an article published in Physical Review B. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Physics and Astronomy (Leeds) > Theoretical Physics (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) EP/R020612/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 28 Sep 2021 13:37 |
Last Modified: | 28 Sep 2021 13:37 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | American Physical Society |
Identification Number: | 10.1103/PhysRevB.104.L081402 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:178439 |