Band flattening in periodically buckled monolayer graphene

The strain fields induced by periodically buckling graphene result in a periodic pseudo-magnetic field that modifies the electronic band structure. From the geometry, amplitude, and period of the periodic pseudo-magnetic field, we determine the necessary conditions to access the regime of correlated phases by examining the band flattening. As compared to twisted bilayer graphene the proposed system has the advantages that: 1) only a single layer of graphene is needed, 2) one is not limited to hexagonal superlattices, and 3) narrower flat bandwidth and larger separation between flat bands can be induced. Periodically strained monolayer of graphene can become a platform for the exploration of exotic many-body phases.

References:
J. Mao, S. P. Milovanovic, M. Andelković, X. Lai, Y. Cao, K. Watanabe, T. Taniguchi, L. Covaci, F. M. Peeters, A. K. Geim, Y. Jiang, and E. Y. Andrei: "Evidence of Flat Bands and Correlated States in Buckled Graphene Superlattices", Nature 584 (2020).

S. P. Milovanović, M. Andelković, L. Covaci, and F. M. Peeters: "Band flattening in buckled monolayer graphene", arXiv:1910.11752