Abstract
The fabrication and characterization of graphene, in 2004, have opened new paths to the realization of a truly two-dimensional gas, with great perspectives to study both fundamental and applied physics related to quantum Hall effect, fractional quantum Hall effect, quantum anomalous Hall effect, quantum spin Hall effect, topological insulators, etc. Due to the low dimensionality and the special crystalline structure, graphene displays very interesting physical properties, such as ultrahigh electron mobility, linear dispersion around Dirac points K and K' and large spin coherent length. On the other hand, monolayers of Transition Metal Dichalcogenides (TMDs), such as MoS2, MoSe2, WS2 and WSe2, were discovered recently. These materials display properties complementary to those of graphene: an asymmetry over the inversion of crystalline structure, large band gap, strong spin-orbit coupling and large Coulomb interaction. Furthermore, these new two-dimensional materials can be organized in three-dimensional heterostructures which do not exist in nature and have controlled properties, opening a totally new chapter in the study of Condensed Mater Physics. Despite great advances in the synthesis of these materials, the fundamental understanding of the origin of important properties is still not well developed. The proposal of microscopic theories can support the interpretation of experimental results and also lead to the prediction of new properties. The goal of this project is to assist the development of new devices which use many-body properties and the spin and valley degree of freedom of the TMDs monolayers. The project will allow the integration of a researcher who has recently finished the PhD in strongly-correlated systems to the research group of Semiconductor Nanostructures of UFSCar, which has large experience on the theoretical study of electronic and optical properties of nanoscopic systems and of the application of such materials to technological devices. The group has also collaboration with experimentalists, allowing an interplay between theory and experiment. (AU)
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