Abstract
The low-energy excitations of graphene are relativistic massless Dirac fermions with opposite chiralities at valleys and . Breaking the chiral symmetry could lead to gap opening in analogy to dynamical mass generation in particle physics. Here we report direct experimental evidences of chiral symmetry breaking (CSB) from both microscopic and spectroscopic measurements in a Li-intercalated graphene. The CSB is evidenced by gap opening at the Dirac point, Kekulé-O type modulation, and chirality mixing near the gap edge. Our work opens up opportunities for investigating CSB related physics in a Kekulé-ordered graphene.
- Received 14 February 2021
- Accepted 30 March 2021
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.206804
© 2021 American Physical Society
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Viewpoint
Shining a Light on Chiral Symmetry Breaking in Graphene
Published 19 May 2021
Sensitive photoemission measurements visualize the signatures of a symmetry-broken phase of graphene with carriers of mixed handedness.
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