Spectroscopic Signatures of Massless Gap Opening in Graphene

TL;DR

This paper proposes a novel gap opening mechanism in graphene that maintains massless carriers, explaining recent spectroscopic observations without inducing a finite fermion mass.

Contribution

It introduces a new gap scenario in graphene that preserves massless fermions, aligning with recent experimental spectroscopic data.

Findings

Spectroscopic measurements are explained by the massless gap scenario.

The approach reconciles gap opening with massless carrier behavior.

Provides a theoretical framework consistent with experimental observations.

Abstract

Gap opening in graphene is usually discussed in terms of a semiconducting-like spectrum, where the appearance of a finite gap at the Dirac point is accompanied by a finite mass for the fermions. In this Letter we propose a gap scenario from graphene which preserves the massless characters of the carriers. This approach explains recent spectroscopic measurements carried out in epitaxially-grown graphene, ranging from photoemission to optical transmission.