Signatures of Fractionally Charged Trions in Twisted MoTe₂

Strong electron-electron interactions can lead to the fractionalization of the elementary charge, a hallmark of fractional quantum Hall (FQH) states. However, in their zero-field lattice analogs—fractional Chern insulators (FCIs), direct detection of fractional charges remains a major challenge. In this talk, I will present spectroscopic evidence for fractional charges in newly discovered FCIs hosted by twisted MoTe₂ bilayers, revealed by the observation of fractionally charged trions. We engineer quantum confined potential traps for optically excited excitons, yielding photoluminescence (PL) with linewidths far narrower than those of free excitons. Using PL spectroscopy of quantum-confined trions, we identify emergent peaks corresponding to fractionally charged trions that appear within slightly doped FCI states. These features are redshifted relative to the trions in undoped FCIs and exhibit similar dependence on electric field, temperature, and magnetic field. Remarkably, the ratio of binding energies between the fractionally charged trions in the –2/3 and –3/5 FCI states matches the expected fractional charge ratio of e/3 to e/5, providing strong evidence that these excitations arise from trions bound to elementary anyons. Our results provide spectroscopic evidence for fractional charges in FCIs and establish quantum-confined trion spectroscopy as a powerful approach for detecting zero-field fractional charges and anyonic quasiparticles.