He Minhao, Zhang Ya-Hui, Li Yuhao, Fei Zaiyao, Watanabe Kenji, Taniguchi Takashi, Xu Xiaodong, Yankowitz Matthew
Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Nat Commun. 2021 Aug 5;12(1):4727. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-25044-1.
Flat band moiré superlattices have recently emerged as unique platforms for investigating the interplay between strong electronic correlations, nontrivial band topology, and multiple isospin 'flavor' symmetries. Twisted monolayer-bilayer graphene (tMBG) is an especially rich system owing to its low crystal symmetry and the tunability of its bandwidth and topology with an external electric field. Here, we find that orbital magnetism is abundant within the correlated phase diagram of tMBG, giving rise to the anomalous Hall effect in correlated metallic states nearby most odd integer fillings of the flat conduction band, as well as correlated Chern insulator states stabilized in an external magnetic field. The behavior of the states at zero field appears to be inconsistent with simple spin and valley polarization for the specific range of twist angles we investigate, and instead may plausibly result from an intervalley coherent (IVC) state with an order parameter that breaks time reversal symmetry. The application of a magnetic field further tunes the competition between correlated states, in some cases driving first-order topological phase transitions. Our results underscore the rich interplay between closely competing correlated ground states in tMBG, with possible implications for probing exotic IVC ordering.
平带莫尔超晶格最近已成为研究强电子关联、非平凡能带拓扑和多种同位旋“味”对称性之间相互作用的独特平台。扭曲的单层-双层石墨烯(tMBG)是一个特别丰富的体系,这是由于其低晶体对称性以及通过外部电场对其带宽和拓扑结构的可调性。在这里,我们发现轨道磁性在tMBG的关联相图中很丰富,在平坦导带的大多数奇整数填充附近的关联金属态中产生反常霍尔效应,以及在外部磁场中稳定的关联陈绝缘体态。对于我们所研究的特定扭曲角范围,零场下这些态的行为似乎与简单的自旋和能谷极化不一致,相反,可能合理地源于具有破坏时间反演对称性的序参量的能谷间相干(IVC)态。磁场的施加进一步调节了关联态之间的竞争,在某些情况下驱动一阶拓扑相变。我们的结果强调了tMBG中紧密竞争的关联基态之间丰富的相互作用,这可能对探测奇异的IVC序有启示。