Free energy barrier and thermal-quantum behavior of sliding bilayer graphene

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Nery, Jean Paul, Monacelli, Lorenzo, Mauri, Francesco
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2024
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author Nery, Jean Paul
Monacelli, Lorenzo
Mauri, Francesco
author_facet Nery, Jean Paul
Monacelli, Lorenzo
Mauri, Francesco
contents In multilayer graphene, the stacking order of the layers plays a crucial role in the electronic properties and the manifestation of superconductivity. By applying shear stress, it is possible to induce sliding between different layers, altering the stacking order. Here, focusing on bilayer graphene, we analyze how ionic fluctuations alter the free energy barrier between different stacking equilibria. We calculate the free energy barrier through the state-of-the-art self-consistent harmonic approximation, which can be evaluated at unstable configurations. We find that above 100 K there is a large reduction of the barrier of more than 30% due to thermal vibrations, which significantly improves the agreement between previous first-principles theoretical work and experiments in a single graphite crystal. As the temperature increases, the barrier remains nearly constant up to around 500 K, with a more pronounced decrease only at higher temperatures. Our approach is general and paves the way for systematically accounting for thermal effects in free energy barriers of other macroscopic systems.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2407_04532
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Free energy barrier and thermal-quantum behavior of sliding bilayer graphene
Nery, Jean Paul
Monacelli, Lorenzo
Mauri, Francesco
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Materials Science
In multilayer graphene, the stacking order of the layers plays a crucial role in the electronic properties and the manifestation of superconductivity. By applying shear stress, it is possible to induce sliding between different layers, altering the stacking order. Here, focusing on bilayer graphene, we analyze how ionic fluctuations alter the free energy barrier between different stacking equilibria. We calculate the free energy barrier through the state-of-the-art self-consistent harmonic approximation, which can be evaluated at unstable configurations. We find that above 100 K there is a large reduction of the barrier of more than 30% due to thermal vibrations, which significantly improves the agreement between previous first-principles theoretical work and experiments in a single graphite crystal. As the temperature increases, the barrier remains nearly constant up to around 500 K, with a more pronounced decrease only at higher temperatures. Our approach is general and paves the way for systematically accounting for thermal effects in free energy barriers of other macroscopic systems.
title Free energy barrier and thermal-quantum behavior of sliding bilayer graphene
topic Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.04532