Localization and the Kosterlitz-Thouless Transition in Disordered Graphene

Yan-Yang Zhang, Jiangping Hu, B. A. Bernevig, X. R. Wang, X. C. Xie, and W. M. Liu

Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 106401 – Published 10 March 2009

Abstract

We investigate disordered graphene with strong long-range impurities. Contrary to the common belief that delocalization should persist in such a system against any disorder, as the system is expected to be equivalent to a disordered two-dimensional Dirac fermionic system, we find that states near the Dirac points are localized for sufficiently strong disorder (therefore inevitable intervalley scattering) and the transition between the localized and delocalized states is of Kosterlitz-Thouless type. Our results show that the transition originates from bounding and unbounding of local current vortices.

Received 14 October 2008

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.106401

Authors & Affiliations

Yan-Yang Zhang¹, Jiangping Hu¹, B. A. Bernevig², X. R. Wang³, X. C. Xie^4,5, and W. M. Liu⁴

¹Department of Physics, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA
²Princeton Center for Theoretical Science, Jadwin Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA
³Physics Department, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong SAR, China
⁴Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080, China
⁵Department of Physics, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078, USA

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Vol. 102, Iss. 10 — 13 March 2009

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