Semimetallic features in quantum transport through a gate-defined point contact in bilayer graphene

We demonstrate that, at the onset of conduction, an electrostatically defined quantum wire in bilayer graphene (BLG) with an interlayer asymmetry gap may act as a 1D semimetal, due to the multiple minivalley dispersion of its lowest subband. Formation of a non-monotonic subband coincides with a near-degeneracy between the bottom edges of the lowest two subbands in the wire spectrum, suggesting an $8e^2\mathrm{/}h$ step at the conduction threshold, and the semimetallic behaviour of the lowest subband in the wire would be manifest as resonance transmission peaks on an $8e^2\mathrm{/}h$ conductance plateau.