Gully quantum Hall ferromagnetism in biased trilayer graphene

Abstract

Multilayer graphene lattices allow for an additional tunability of the band structure by the strong perpendicular electric field. In particular, the emergence of the new multiple Dirac points in ABA stacked trilayer graphene subject to strong transverse electric fields was proposed theoretically and confirmed experimentally. These new Dirac points dubbed ``gullies'' emerge from the interplay between strong electric field and trigonal warping. In this work we first characterize the properties of new emergent Dirac points and show that the electric field can be used to tune the distance between gullies in the momentum space. We demonstrate that the band structure has multiple Lifshitz transitions and higher-order singularity of ``monkey saddle'' type. Following the characterization of the band structure, we consider the spectrum of Landau levels and structure of their wave functions. In the limit of strong electric fields when gullies are well separated in momentum space, they give rise to triply degenerate Landau levels. In the second part of this work, we investigate how degeneracy between three gully Landau levels is lifted in presence of interactions. Within the Hartree-Fock approximation we show that the symmetry breaking state interpolates between fully gully polarized state that breaks $C_3$ symmetry at high displacement field, and the gully symmetric state when the electric field is decreased. The discontinuous transition between these two states is driven by enhanced inter-gully tunneling and exchange. We conclude by outlining specific experimental predictions for the existence of such a symmetry-breaking state.