Strains and pseudo-magnetic fields in circular graphene rings

TL;DR

This paper shows that shear stress in circular graphene rings induces significant pseudo-magnetic fields, which are enhanced by wrinkles and can be observed via atomic-level imaging techniques.

Contribution

It combines continuum elasticity theory and molecular dynamics simulations to analyze pseudo-magnetic fields in graphene rings under shear stress, revealing wrinkle-induced field enhancement.

Findings

Strong pseudo-magnetic fields are generated in sheared graphene rings.

Wrinkles caused by shear deformation amplify the pseudo-magnetic fields.

The pseudo-magnetic fields are observable with atomic-level imaging techniques.

Abstract

We demonstrate that circular graphene ring under a shear stress displays strong pseudo-magnetic fields. We calculate the pseudo-magnetic field both from continuum elasticity theory as well as molecular dynamics simulations. Stable wrinkles are induced by shear deformations and lead to enhancement of the pseudo-magnetic field. The strong pseudo-magnetic field found here can be observed by imaging graphene flake at the atomic level e.g. through scanning tunneling microscope.