Theory for electron transport in graphene

• We write pedagogical article of theory for classical and quantum transport in graphene.
• Contradiction in classical and quantum transport experiment in literature is addressed.
• Graphene dominant scatterer is not determinable from available quantum transport data.

In this pedagogical article, we address a surprising result in the graphene transport literature, namely, measurements of the classical transport indicate that charged impurities dominate the electron scattering, while quantum transport measurements suggest that mechanical deformations that break time-reversal symmetry within a valley dominate the scattering. But surely it is the same impurities that are at play for both the phase-incoherent and phase-coherent components to the electron transport. By selectively reviewing the relevant theories for the classical and quantum transport and a careful examination of available experimental data, we show that the uncertainty in the quantum transport data makes it consistent with both with ripple-scattering being completely negligible, but also with the unphysical case of ripple scattering contributing only to quantum transport but not the classical transport. We therefore conclude that the experimental uncertainty in the available quantum transport data is too large to make any definitive statements about the relevant transport mechanisms in graphene.

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