Exchange induced charge inhomogeneities in rippled neutral graphene

TL;DR

This paper proposes a mechanism where lattice deformations and exchange interactions in rippled graphene cause charge inhomogeneities, explaining observed electron-hole puddles with realistic deformation values.

Contribution

It introduces a novel mechanism for charge inhomogeneities in rippled graphene based on lattice deformation and exchange interactions.

Findings

Charge density variations of 10^{11}-10^{12} cm^{-2} are induced.

The mechanism explains recent experimental measurements.

Charge puddles are caused by interplay between lattice deformations and exchange interactions.

Abstract

A new mechanism that induces charge density variations in corrugated graphene is proposed. Here it is shown how the interplay between lattice deformations and exchange interactions can induce charge separation, i.e., puddles of electrons and holes, for realistic deformation values of the graphene sheet. The induced charge density lies in the range of $10^{11}-10^{12}$ cm$^{-2}$, which is compatible with recent measurements.