Controllability of ferromagnetism in graphene

We systematically study magnetic correlations in graphene within Hubbard model on a honeycomb lattice by using quantum Monte Carlo simulations. In the filling region below the Van Hove singularity, the system shows a short-range ferromagnetic correlation, which is slightly strengthened by the on-site Coulomb interaction and markedly by the next-nearest-neighbor hopping integral. The ferromagnetic properties depend on the electron filling strongly, which may be manipulated by the electric gate. Due to its resultant controllability of ferromagnetism, graphene-based samples may facilitate the development of many applications. (c) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3485059]