Evidence of Lifshitz Transition in the Thermoelectric Power of Ultrahigh-Mobility Bilayer Graphene

Resolving low-energy features in the density of states (DOS) holds the key to understanding a wide variety of rich novel phenomena in graphene-based 2D heterostructures. The Lifshitz transition in bilayer graphene (BLG) arising from trigonal warping has been established theoretically and experimentally. Nevertheless, the experimental realization of its effects on transport properties has been challenging because of its relatively low energy scale (similar to 1 meV). In this work, we demonstrate that the thermoelectric power (TEP) can be used as an effective probe to investigate fine changes in the DOS of BLG. We observed additional entropy features in the vicinity of the charge neutrality point (CNP) in gapped BLG. This apparent violation of the Mott formula can be explained quantitatively by considering the effects of trigonal warping, thereby serving as possible evidence of a Lifshitz transition.

Automated summary

Resolving low-energy features in the density of states (DOS) is crucial for understanding rich novel phenomena in graphene-based 2D heterostructures. Through investigating thermoelectric power, effective probing of fine changes in the DOS of bilayer graphene (BLG) was demonstrated, revealing additional entropy features near the charge neutrality point (CNP) in gapped BLG. This apparent violation of the Mott formula can be quantitatively explained by considering the effects of trigonal warping, possibly serving as evidence for a Lifshitz transition.