Magnetic oscillations in silicene

Abstract

In this work the magnetic oscillations (MO) in pristine silicene at T=0K are studied. Considering a constant electron density we obtain analytical expressions for the ground state internal energy and magnetization, under a perpendicular electric and magnetic field, taking in consideration the Zeeman effect. It is found that the MO are sawtooth-like, depending on the change in the last occupied energy level. This leads us to a classification of the MO peaks in terms of the Landau level (LL), valley or spin changes. Using this classification we analyze the MO for different values of the electric field E z . When E z =0, the energy levels have a valley degeneracy and the MO peaks occur only whenever the last energy level changes its LL and/or spin. When E z ≠0, the valley degeneracy is broken and new MO peaks appear, associated with the valley change in the last energy level. By analyzing the MO peaks amplitude it is possible to extract information about the Fermi velocity and the spin-orbit interaction strength. Finally we analyze the MO frequencies, which can also be associated with the change of LL, valley or spin in the last energy level.