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Register a new userExciton band topology in spontaneous quantum anomalous Hall insulators: applications to twisted bilayer graphene
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We uncover topological features of neutral particle-hole pair excitations of correlated quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) insulators whose approximately flat conduction and valence bands have equal and opposite non-zero Chern number. Using an exactly solvable model we show that the underlying band topology affects both the center-of-mass and relative motion of particle-hole bound states. This leads to the formation of topological exciton bands whose features are robust to nonuniformity of both the dispersion and the Berry curvature. We apply these ideas to recently-reported broken-symmetry spontaneous QAH insulators in substrate aligned magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene.
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Recently twisted bilayer graphene (t-BLG) emerges as a new strongly correlated physical platform near a magic twist angle, which hosts many exciting phenomena such as the Mott-like insulating phases, unconventional superconducting behavior and emergent ferromagnetism. Besides the apparent significance of band flatness, band topology may be another critical element in determining strongly correlated twistronics yet receives much less attention. Here we report compelling evidence for nontrivial noninteracting band topology of t-BLG moire Dirac bands through a systematic nonlocal transport study, in conjunction with an examination rooted in $K$-theory. The moire band topology of t-BLG manifests itself as two pronounced nonlocal responses in the electron and hole superlattice gaps. We further show that the nonlocal responses are robust to the interlayer electric field, twist angle, and edge termination, exhibiting a universal scaling law. While an unusual symmetry of t-BLG trivializes Berry curvature, we elucidate that two $Z_2$ invariants characterize the topology of the moire Dirac bands, validating the topological edge origin of the observed nonlocal responses. Our findings not only provide a new perspective for understanding the emerging strongly correlated phenomena in twisted van der Waals heterostructures, but also suggest a potential strategy to achieve topologically nontrivial metamaterials from topologically trivial quantum materials based on twist engineering.
We use a lowest Landau level model to study the recent observation of an anomalous Hall effect in twisted bilayer graphene. This effective model is rooted in the occurrence of Chern bands which arise due to the coupling between the graphene device and its encapsulating substrate. Our model exhibits a phase transition from a spin-valley polarized insulator to a partial or fully valley unpolarized metal as the bandwidth is increased relative to the interaction strength, consistent with experimental observations. In sharp contrast to standard quantum Hall ferromagnetism, the Chern number structure of the flat bands precludes an instability to an inter-valley coherent phase, but allows for an excitonic vortex lattice at large interaction anisotropy.
The experimentally observed correlated insulating states and quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect in twisted bilayer graphene (TBG) have drawn significant attention. However, up to date, the specific mechanisms of these intriguing phenomena are still open questions. Using a fully unrestricted Hartree-Fock variational method, we have explained the correlated insulating states and QAH effects at various integer fillings of the flat bands in TBG. Our results indicate that states breaking flavor (valley and spin) symmetries are energetically favored at all integer fillings. In particular, the correlated insulating states at $pm 1/2$ filling and at the charge neutrality point are all valley polarized sates which break $C_{2z}$ and time-reversal ($mathcal{T}$) symmetries, but preserves $C_{2z}mathcal{T}$ symmetry. Such valley polarized states exhibit moire orbital antiferromagnetic ordering on an emergent honeycomb lattice with compensating circulating current pattern in the moire supercell. Within the same theoretical framework, our calculations indicate that the $C!=!mp 1$ QAH states at $pm 3/4$ fillings of the magic-angle TBG are spin and orbital ferromagnetic states, which emerge when a staggered sublattice potential is present. We find that the nonlocalness of the exchange interactions tend to enhance the bandwidth of the low-energy bands due to the exchange-hole effect, which reduces the gaps of the correlated insulator phases. The nonlocal exchange interactions also dramatically enhance the spin polarization of the system, which significantly stabilize the orbital and spin ferromagnetic QAH state at $3/4$ filling of TBG aligned with hexagonal boron nitride (hBN). We also predict that, by virtue of the orbital ferromagnetic nature, the QAH effects at electron and hole fillings of hBN-aligned TBG would exhibit hysteresis loops with opposite chiralities.
We discuss twisted bilayer graphene (TBG) based on a theorem of flat band ferromagnetism put forward by Mielke and Tasaki. According to this theorem, ferromagnetism occurs if the single particle density matrix of the flat band states is irreducible and we argue that this result can be applied to the quasi-flat bands of TBG that emerge around the charge-neutrality point for twist angles around the magic angle $thetasim1.05^circ$. We show that the density matrix is irreducible in this case, thus predicting a ferromagnetic ground state for neutral TBG ($n=0$). We then show that the theorem can also be applied only to the flat conduction or valence bands, if the substrate induces a single-particle gap at charge neutrality. Also in this case, the corresponding density matrix turns out to be irreducible, leading to ferromagnetism at half filling ($n=pm2$).
We introduce and analyze a model that sheds light on the interplay between correlated insulating states, superconductivity, and flavor-symmetry breaking in magic angle twisted bilayer graphene. Using a variational mean-field theory, we determine the normal-state phase diagram of our model as a function of the band filling. The model features robust insulators at even integer fillings, occasional weaker insulators at odd integer fillings, and a pattern of flavor-symmetry breaking at non-integer fillings. Adding a phonon-mediated inter-valley retarded attractive interaction, we obtain strong-coupling superconducting domes, whose structure is in qualitative agreement with experiments. Our model elucidates how the intricate form of the interactions and the particle-hole asymmetry of the electronic structure determine the phase diagram. It also explains how subtle differences between devices may lead to the different behaviors observed experimentally. A similar model can be applied with minor modifications to other moir{e} systems, such as twisted trilayer graphene.
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