Magneto-exciton limit of quantum Hall breakdown in graphene

One of the intrinsic drift velocity limit of the quantum Hall effect is the collective magneto-exciton (ME) instability. It has been demonstrated in bilayer graphene (BLG) using noise measurements. We reproduce this experiment in monolayer graphene (MLG), and show that the same mechanism carries a direct relativistic signature on the breakdown velocity. Based on theoretical calculations of MLG- and BLG-ME spectra, we show that Doppler-induced instabilities manifest for a ME phase velocity determined by a universal value of the ME conductivity, set by the Hall conductance.