4He monolayer on graphene: a quantum Monte Carlo study

We revisit the problem of adsorption of a single 4He layer on graphene, focusing on the commensurate (C (1/3)) crystalline phase, specifically on whether it may possess a nonzero superfluid response, and on the existence of superfluid phases, either (metastable) liquid or vacancy-doped crystalline. We make use of canonical quantum Monte Carlo simulations at zero and finite temperature, based on a realistic microscopic model of the system. Our results confirm the absence of any superfluid response in the commensurate crystal, and that no thermodynamically stable uniform phase exists at lower coverage. No evidence of a possibly long-lived, metastable superfluid phase at C-1/3 coverage is found. Altogether, the results of ground-state projection methods and finite-temperature simulations are entirely consistent.