Theory of integer quantum Hall effect in graphene

By taking into account the charge and spin orderings and the exchange interactions between all the Landau levels, we investigate the integer quantum Hall effect of electrons in graphene using the mean-field theory. At the fillings $\nu = 4n+2$ with $n = 0, 1, \cdots$, the system is in the high-symmetry state with the Landau levels four-fold degenerated. We show that with doping the degenerated lowest empty levels can be sequentially filled one level by one level, the filled l...

Starting from the graphene lattice tight-binding Hamiltonian with an on-site U and long-range Coulomb repulsion, we derive an interacting continuum Dirac theory governing the low-energy behavior of graphene in an applied magnetic field. Initially, we consider a clean graphene system within this effective theory and explore integer quantum Hall ferromagnetism stabilized by exchange from the long-range Coulomb repulsion. We study in detail the ground state and excitations at nu...

This short theoretical review deals with some essential ingredients for the understanding of the quantum Hall effect in graphene in comparison with the effect in conventional two-dimensional electron systems with a parabolic band dispersion. The main difference between the two systems stems from the "ultra-relativistic" character of the low-energy carriers in graphene, which are described in terms of a Dirac equation, as compared to the non-relativistic Schr\"odinger equation...

Experiments on the fractional quantized Hall effect in the zeroth Landau level of graphene have revealed some striking differences between filling factors in the ranges 0<|\nu|<1 and 1<|\nu|<2. We argue that these differences can be largely understood as a consequence of the effects of terms in the Hamiltonian which break SU(2) valley symmetry, which we find to be important for |\nu|<1 but negligible for |\nu| >1. The effective absence of valley anisotropy for |\nu|>1 means t...

We investigate the emerging consequences of an applied strong in-plane electric field on a macroscopically large graphene sheet subjected to a perpendicular magnetic field, by determining in exact analytical form various many-body thermodynamic properties and the Hall coefficient. The results suggest exotic possibilities that necessitate very careful experimental investigation. In this alternate form of Quantum Hall Effect, non-linear phenomena related to the global magnetiza...

Monolayer graphite films, or graphene, have quasiparticle excitations that can be described by 2+1 dimensional Dirac theory. We demonstrate that this produces an unconventional form of the quantized Hall conductivity $\sigma_{xy} = - (2 e^2/h)(2n+1)$ with $n=0,1,...$, that notably distinguishes graphene from other materials where the integer quantum Hall effect was observed. This unconventional quantization is caused by the quantum anomaly of the $n=0$ Landau level and was di...

The fractional quantum Hall effect is a very particular manifestation of electronic correlations in two-dimensional systems in a strong perpendicular magnetic field. It arises as a consequence of a strong Coulomb repulsion between electrons in the same Landau level that conspires with a particular chirality of the electronic states. This chirality is inherited from the classical cyclotron motion, i.e. a particular sense of electronic rotation due to the orientation of the mag...

Graphene is a two-dimensional carbon material with a honeycomb lattice and Dirac-like low-energy excitations. When Zeeman and spin-orbit interactions are neglected its Landau levels are four-fold degenerate, explaining the $4 e^2/h$ separation between quantized Hall conductivity values seen in recent experiments. In this paper we derive a criterion for the occurrence of interaction-driven quantum Hall effects near intermediate integer values of $e^2/h$ due to charge gaps in b...

The discovery of the integer quantum Hall effect in the early eighties of the last century, with highly precise quantization values for the Hall conductance in multiples of $e^2/h$, has been the first fascinating manifestation of the topological state of matter driven by magnetic field and disorder, and related to the formation of non-dissipative current flow. In 2005, several new phenomena such as the spin Hall effect and the quantum spin Hall effect were predicted in the pr...

Graphene's honeycomb lattice structure underlies much of the remarkable physics inherent in this material, most strikingly through the formation of two ``flavors'' of Dirac cones for each spin. In the quantum Hall regime, the resulting flavor degree of freedom leads to an interesting problem when a Landau level is partially occupied. Namely, while Zeeman splitting clearly favors polarizing spins along the field, precisely how the states for each flavor are occupied can become...