Electron Fractionalization in Two-Dimensional Graphenelike Structures

2006/09/30 by Chang-Yu Hou, Claudio Chamon, Christopher Mudry · 5 citations
Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Graphene research and applications #Quantum and electron transport phenomena #Topological Materials and Phenomena #cond-mat.mes-hall #hep-th

paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.98.186809

published as Phys.Rev.Lett.98:186809,2007 · 4 pages, 2 figures

openalex publication_date 2007/05/04 · arxiv created 2007/05/21 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31

Abstract

Electron fractionalization is intimately related to topology. In one-dimensional systems, fractionally charged states exist at domain walls between degenerate vacua. In two-dimensional systems, fractionalization exists in quantum Hall fluids, where time-reversal symmetry is broken by a large external magnetic field. Recently, there has been a tremendous effort in the search for examples of fractionalization in two-dimensional systems with time-reversal symmetry. In this Letter, we show that fractionally charged topological excitations exist on graphenelike structures, where quasiparticles are described by two flavors of Dirac fermions and time-reversal symmetry is respected. The topological zero modes are mathematically similar to fractional vortices in p-wave superconductors. They correspond to a twist in the phase in the mass of the Dirac fermions, akin to cosmic strings in particle physics.

Citations

• Zero modes of tight-binding electrons on the honeycomb lattice

Cited by

• Anyons in a weakly interacting system
• Irrational Versus Rational Charge and Statistics in Two-Dimensional Quantum Systems
• Materials Design from Nonequilibrium Steady States: Driven Graphene as a Tunable Semiconductor with Topological Properties
• Zero modes of the generalized fermion-vortex system in a magnetic field
• Instabilities on graphene's honeycomb lattice with electron-phonon interactions