Ubiquitous defect-induced density wave instability in monolayer graphene.

ABSTRACT: Quantum materials are notoriously sensitive to their environments, where small perturbations can tip a system toward one of several competing ground states. Graphene hosts a rich assortment of such competing phases, including a bond density wave instability ("Kekulé distortion") that couples electrons at the K/K' valleys and breaks the lattice symmetry. Here, we report observations of a ubiquitous Kekulé distortion across multiple graphene systems. We show that extremely dilute concentrations of surface atoms (less than three adsorbed atoms every 1000 graphene unit cells) can self-assemble and trigger the onset of a global Kekulé density wave phase. Combining complementary momentum-sensitive angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) measur

SUBMITTER: Qu AC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9177069 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature