Zero-bias anomaly induced by the point defect in graphene

TL;DR

This paper challenges the common belief that point defects in graphene create impurity states at zero energy, revealing instead that the zero-bias anomaly arises from a collective power-law singularity due to resonant peaks.

Contribution

The study demonstrates analytically and numerically that the zero-bias peak is a collective resonance effect, not caused by a localized impurity state, revising the understanding of defect-induced phenomena in graphene.

Findings

Impurity state contribution vanishes in the thermodynamic limit.

Zero-bias peak is a power-law $1/|E|$ singularity.

Peak results from collective resonant peaks, not a single impurity state.

Abstract

It is generally believed that a point defect in graphene gives rise to an impurity state at zero energy and causes a sharp peak in the local density of states near the defect site. We revisit the defect problem in graphene and find the general consensus incorrect. By both analytic and numeric methods, we show that the contribution to the local density of states from the impurity state vanishes in the thermodynamic limit. Instead, the pronounced peak of the zero-bias anomaly is a power-law singularity $1/|E|$ from infinite resonant peaks in the low-energy regime induced by the defect. Our finding shows that the peak shall be viewed as a collective phenomenon rather than a single impurity state in previous studies.