Velocity renormalization and carrier lifetime in graphene from the electron-phonon interaction

Abstract

We present a first-principles investigation of the phonon-induced electron self-energy in graphene. The energy dependence of the self-energy reflects the peculiar linear band structure of graphene and deviates substantially from the usual metallic behavior. The effective band velocity of the Dirac fermions is found to be reduced by 4%-8%, depending on doping, by the interaction with lattice vibrations. Our results are consistent with the observed linear dependence of the electronic linewidth on the binding energy in photoemission spectra. © 2007 The American Physical Society.