Gap generation and semimetal-insulator phase transition in graphene

Abstract

The gap generation is studied in suspended clean graphene in the continuum model for quasiparticles with the Coulomb interaction. We solve the gap equation with the dynamical polarization function and show that, comparing to the case of the static polarization function, the critical coupling constant lowers to the value ${\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{c}=0.92$, which is close to that obtained in lattice Monte Carlo simulations. It is argued that additional short-range four-fermion interactions should be included in the continuum model to account for the lattice simulation results. We obtain the critical line in the plane of electromagnetic and four-fermion coupling constants and find a second-order phase transition separating zero gap and gapped phases with critical exponents close to those found in lattice calculations.