Track synthesis, materials and catalysis as it is published.
Search papers, labs, and topics across Lattice.
We investigate intrinsic spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in multilayer graphene using a model incorporating all valence orbitals and intra-atomic SOC. The dominant SOC term combines Rashba-like spin-flip processes with interlayer hopping, significantly altering the phase diagram and Fermi surfaces of finite rhombohedral stacks. This intrinsic SOC also induces a distinct density-dependent magnetization in weak magnetic fields, demonstrating its non-negligible impact in multilayer systems.
Intrinsic spin-orbit coupling dramatically reshapes the electronic properties and magnetic behavior of multilayer graphene, contrary to its negligible effect in single layers.
The effect of spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in monolayer graphene has been thoroughly studied in the past. Its impact is commonly disregarded since the electronic structure of graphene is almost unaffected. Consequently, SOC has also been ignored in other graphitic systems. In this work, we calculate the intrinsic SOC in stacks of graphene layers from a model that includes all the valence orbitals of carbon as well as the intra-atomic SOC.The leading spin-orbit term in a graphene multilayer combines a Rashba-like spin-flip process with interlayer hopping. We find that this intrinsic term modifies the phase diagram and Fermi surfaces of finite rhombohedral stacks, and it leads to a distinct density-dependence of the magnetization in weak magnetic fields. This Letter shows that, unlike in the single-layer case, SOC has important consequences in multilayer graphitic systems and it should not be neglected when studying their physical properties.