Effects of heterostrain and lattice relaxation on optical conductivity of twisted bilayer graphene

Abstract: We present a theoretical study of the effects of heterostrain and lattice relaxation on the optical conductivity of twisted bilayer graphene near the magic angle, based on the band structures obtained from a continuum model. We find that heterostrain, lattice relaxation and their combination give rise to very distinctive spectroscopic features in the optical conductivity, which can be used to probe and distinguish these effects. From the spectrum at various Fermi energies, important features in the strain- and relaxation-modified band structure such as the bandgap, bandwidth and van Hove singularities can be directly measured. The peak associated with the transition between the flat bands in the optical conductivity are highly sensitive to the direction of the strain, which can provide direct information on the strain-modified flat bands.