Local sublattice-symmetry breaking in rotationally faulted multilayer graphene

TL;DR

This paper develops a theoretical model showing how interlayer coupling in rotationally faulted multilayer graphene breaks local sublattice symmetry, with predictions matching recent experimental results.

Contribution

It introduces an effective Dirac model with space-dependent mass to describe sublattice-symmetry breaking in multilayer graphene.

Findings

Quantitative agreement with recent experimental data

Effective Dirac model with space-dependent mass derived

Mechanism explains local sublattice-symmetry breaking

Abstract

Interlayer coupling in rotationally faulted graphene multilayers breaks the local sublattice-symmetry of the individual layers. We present a theory of this mechanism, which reduces to an effective Dirac model with space-dependent mass in an important limit. It thus makes a wealth of existing knowledge available for the study of rotationally faulted graphene multilayers. We demonstrate quantitative agreement between our theory and a recent experiment.