Date of Last Revision
2023-05-03 05:05:03
Major
Physics
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science
Date of Expected Graduation
Spring 2018
Abstract
Mitchell Duffer
Major: Physics
Project Sponsor: Ben Yu-Kuang Hu
Number of Project Credits: 2
Two Stream Instability in Graphene
We investigate the unstable modes of the two-stream instability in graphene to determine if they can occur. This instability occurs when a population of electrons streams past another inside graphene. We obtain the unstable modes by numerically determining the zeros of the non-equilibrium graphene dielectric function using MATLAB. The dielectric function used in this study, in contrast to previous studies, includes the effects of the particle-hole excitation continuum (PHEC) that normally quells the evolution of unstable plasmons. MATLAB’s built in zero solver is employed to solve the sixth order polynomial and determine its roots. For some range of parameters, the zeros are found to exist in the upper half of the complex plane. This indicates that there is a range of unstable modes that exists even with the incorporation of PHEC. The presence of these unstable modes signifies that the plasmons’ amplitudes increase with time.
Research Sponsor
Dr. Ben Yu-Kuang Hu
First Reader
Jutta Luettmer-Strathmann
Second Reader
Robert R. Mallik
Recommended Citation
Duffer, Mitchell, "Two Stream Instability in Graphene" (2018). Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects. 644.
https://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/honors_research_projects/644