A non-perturbative study of the interplay between electron–phonon interaction and Coulomb interaction in undoped graphene

Abstract

Abstract In condensed-matter systems, electrons are subjected to two different interactions under certain conditions. Even if both interactions are weak, it is difficult to perform perturbative calculations due to the complexity caused by the interplay of two interactions. When one or two interactions are strong, ordinary perturbation theory may become invalid. Here we consider undoped graphene as an example and provide a non-perturbative quantum-field-theoretic analysis of the interplay of electron–phonon interaction and Coulomb interaction. We treat these two interactions on an equal footing and derive the exact Dyson–Schwinger (DS) integral equation of the full Dirac-fermion propagator. This equation depends on several complicated correlation functions and thus is difficult to handle. Fortunately, we find that these correlation functions obey a number of exact identities, which allows us to prove that the DS equation of full fermion propagator is self-closed. After solving this self-closed equation, we obtain the renormalized fermion velocity and show that its energy (momentum) dependence of renormalized fermion velocity is dominantly determined by the electron–phonon (Coulomb) interaction. In particular, the renormalized velocity exhibits a logarithmic momentum dependence and a non-monotonic energy dependence.