Graphene study finds energy-loss and quantum-coherence exponents diverge with gate control

Scientists have shown that the two exponents commonly used to describe electron scattering in graphene—the inelastic scattering exponent and the dephasing exponent—do not necessarily follow the same behavior. The finding comes from a multi‑institutional team that investigated gated epitaxial graphene.

The researchers independently extracted the two exponents using current‑heating measurements and weak‑localization analysis, observing a contrasting dependence on gate voltage. This contrasting gate‑voltage dependence provides evidence that energy relaxation and loss of quantum phase coherence can be governed by different microscopic processes.

The study demonstrates that the inelastic scattering exponent and the dephasing exponent in graphene can diverge under gate control.