English

SU(4) spin waves in the $\nu=\pm1$ quantum Hall ferromagnet in graphene

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics 2021-05-19 v1

Abstract

We study generalized spin waves in graphene under a strong magnetic field when the Landau-level filling factor is ν=±1\nu=\pm 1. In this case, the ground state is a particular SU(4) quantum Hall ferromagnet, in which not only the physical spin is fully polarized but also the pseudo-spin associated with the valley degree of freedom. The nature of the ground state and the spin-valley polarization depend on explicit symmetry breaking terms that are also reflected in the generalised spin-wave spectrum. In addition to pure spin waves, one encounters valley-pseudo-spin waves as well as more exotic entanglement waves that have a mixed spin-valley character. Most saliently, the SU(4) symmetry-breaking terms do not only yield gaps in the spectra, but under certain circumstances, namely in the case of residual ground-state symmetries, render the originally quadratic (in the wave vector) spin-wave dispersion linear.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2102.12438,
  title  = {SU(4) spin waves in the $\nu=\pm1$ quantum Hall ferromagnet in graphene},
  author = {Jonathan Atteia and Mark Oliver Goerbig},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2102.12438},
  year   = {2021}
}