No Arabic abstract
A detailed understanding of interacting electrons in twisted bilayer graphene (tBLG) near the magic angle is required to gain insights into the physical origin of the observed broken symmetry phases. Here, we present extensive atomistic Hartree theory calculations of the electronic properties of tBLG in the (semi-)metallic phase as function of doping and twist angle. Specifically, we calculate quasiparticle properties, such as the band structure, density of states (DOS) and local density of states (LDOS), which are directly accessible in photoemission and tunnelling spectroscopy experiments. We find that quasiparticle properties change significantly upon doping - an effect which is not captured by tight-binding theory. In particular, we observe that the partially occupied bands flatten significantly which enhances the density of states at the Fermi level. We predict a clear signature of this band flattening in the LDOS in the AB/BA regions of tBLG which can be tested in scanning tunneling experiments. We also study the dependence of quasiparticle properties on the dielectric environment of tBLG and discover that these properties are surprisingly robust as a consequence of the strong internal screening. Finally, we present a simple analytical expression for the Hartree potential which enables the determination of quasiparticle properties without the need for self-consistent calculations.
When twisted to angles near 1{deg}, graphene multilayers provide a new window on electron correlation physics by hosting gate-tuneable strongly-correlated states, including insulators, superconductors, and unusual magnets. Here we report the discovery of a new member of the family, density-wave states, in double bilayer graphene twisted to 2.37{deg}. At this angle the moire states retain much of their isolated bilayer character, allowing their bilayer projections to be separately controlled by gates. We use this property to generate an energetic overlap between narrow isolated electron and hole bands with good nesting properties. Our measurements reveal the formation of ordered states with reconstructed Fermi surfaces, consistent with density-wave states, for equal electron and hole densities. These states can be tuned without introducing chemical dopants, thus opening the door to a new class of fundamental studies of density-waves and their interplay with superconductivity and other types of order, a central issue in quantum matter physics.
Topological insulators realized in materials with strong spin-orbit interactions challenged the long-held view that electronic materials are classified as either conductors or insulators. The emergence of controlled, two-dimensional moire patterns has opened new vistas in the topological materials landscape. Here we report on evidence, obtained by combining thermodynamic measurements, local and non-local transport measurements, and theoretical calculations, that robust topologically non-trivial, valley Chern insulators occur at charge neutrality in twisted double-bilayer graphene (TDBG). These time reversal-conserving valley Chern insulators are enabled by valley-number conservation, a symmetry that emerges from the moire pattern. The thermodynamic gap extracted from chemical potential measurements proves that TDBG is a bulk insulator under transverse electric field, while transport measurements confirm the existence of conducting edge states. A Landauer-Buttiker analysis of measurements on multi-terminal samples allows us to quantitatively assess edge state scattering and demonstrate that it does not destroy the edge states, leaving the bulk-boundary correspondence largely intact.
When bilayer graphene is rotationally faulted to an angle $thetaapprox 1.1^circ$, theory predicts the formation of a flat electronic band and correlated insulating, superconducting, and ferromagnetic states have all been observed at partial band filling. The proximity of superconductivity to correlated insulators has suggested a close relationship between these states, reminiscent of the cuprates where superconductivity arises by doping a Mott insulator. Here, we show that superconductivity can appear without correlated insulating states. While both superconductivity and correlated insulating behavior are strongest near the flat band condition, superconductivity survives to larger detuning of the angle. Our observations are consistent with a competing phases picture, in which insulators and superconductivity arise from disparate mechanisms.
Twisted graphene bilayers provide a versatile platform to engineer metamaterials with novel emergent properties by exploiting the resulting geometric moir{e} superlattice. Such superlattices are known to host bulk valley currents at tiny angles ($alphaapprox 0.3 ^circ$) and flat bands at magic angles ($alpha approx 1^circ$). We show that tuning the twist angle to $alpha^*approx 0.8^circ$ generates flat bands away from charge neutrality with a triangular superlattice periodicity. When doped with $pm 6$ electrons per moire cell, these bands are half-filled and electronic interactions produce a symmetry-broken ground state (Stoner instability) with spin-polarized regions that order ferromagnetically. Application of an interlayer electric field breaks inversion symmetry and introduces valley-dependent dispersion that quenches the magnetic order. With these results, we propose a solid-state platform that realizes electrically tunable strong correlations.
A variety of correlated phases have recently emerged in select twisted van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures owing to their flat electronic dispersions. In particular, heterostructures of twisted double bilayer graphene (tDBG) manifest electric field-tunable correlated insulating (CI) states at all quarter fillings of the conduction band, accompanied by nearby states featuring signatures suggestive of superconductivity. Here, we report electrical transport measurements of tDBG in which we elucidate the fundamental role of spontaneous symmetry breaking within its correlated phase diagram. We observe abrupt resistivity drops upon lowering the temperature in the correlated metallic phases neighboring the CI states, along with associated nonlinear $I$-$V$ characteristics. Despite qualitative similarities to superconductivity, concomitant reversals in the sign of the Hall coefficient instead point to spontaneous symmetry breaking as the origin of the abrupt resistivity drops, while Joule heating appears to underlie the nonlinear transport. Our results suggest that similar mechanisms are likely relevant across a broader class of semiconducting flat band vdW heterostructures.