Electronic properties of graphene in a strong magnetic field

M. O. Goerbig

Reviews of Modern Physics · 2011 · 964 citations · 200 references

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TL;DR

Landau quantization of massless Dirac fermions underpins the relativistic quantum Hall effect in graphene and provides the theoretical framework for understanding interaction‑driven phenomena, while the review aims to link these theoretical insights to experimental observations. The authors aim to review the fundamental behavior of electrons in graphene subjected to a strong perpendicular magnetic field, focusing on electron–electron interactions across weak and strong coupling regimes and briefly on electron–phonon coupling. They analyze the system by examining electron–electron interactions in both weak‑coupling collective modes and strong‑coupling partially filled relativistic Landau levels, and by considering electron–phonon.

Abstract

We review the basic aspects of electrons in graphene (two-dimensional graphite) exposed to a strong perpendicular magnetic field. One of its most salient features is the relativistic quantum Hall effect the observation of which has been the experimental breakthrough in identifying pseudo-relativistic massless charge carriers as the low-energy excitations in graphene. The effect may be understood in terms of Landau quantization for massless Dirac fermions, which is also the theoretical basis for the understanding of more involved phenomena due to electronic interactions. We present the role of electron-electron interactions both in the weak-coupling limit, where the electron-hole excitations are determined by collective modes, and in the strong-coupling regime of partially filled relativistic Landau levels. In the latter limit, exotic ferromagnetic phases and incompressible quantum liquids are expected to be at the origin of recently observed (fractional) quantum Hall states. Furthermore, we discuss briefly the electron-phonon coupling in a strong magnetic field. Although the present review has a dominating theoretical character, a close connection with available experimental observation is intended.

References

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