Abstract This work displays the min-max and max-min principles involved in solving different 2 + 1 Dirac fermion problems. The first problem concerns a charged fermionic oscillator in an external homogeneous magnetic… Click to show full abstract
Abstract This work displays the min-max and max-min principles involved in solving different 2 + 1 Dirac fermion problems. The first problem concerns a charged fermionic oscillator in an external homogeneous magnetic field, for which a quantum phase transition was predicted (Bermudez et al., 2008). The ‘zero-mass’ fermion near Dirac point in graphene monolayer constitutes the second example. Here, the min-max and max-min theorems arise from lattice symmetry, being otherwise independent of the trial function. The min-max and max-min principles hold for the trial solution of the fermion with ‘nearly zero’ mass in diatomic materials with graphene-type lattice.
               
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