Does Moire Matter? Critical Moire Dependence with Quantum Fluctuations in Graphene Based Integer and Fractional Chern Insulators
ORAL
Abstract
Rhombohedral multilayer graphene has emerged as a powerful platform for investigating flat-band-driven correlated phenomena, yet most aspects remain not understood. In this work, we systematically study the moire-dependent band topology in rhombohedral hexalayer graphene. For the first time we demonstrate that the moire twist angle plays a crucial role in the formation of the moire Chern insulators in rhombohedral hexalayer graphene/hexagonal boron nitride (RHG/hBN) moire superlattices. In the moire-distant regime at filling factor v = 1, only systems with a twist angle \theta < 1.1° exhibit an integer moire Chern insulator, while the fractional Chern insulator at v = 2/3 requires smaller twist angle to be stabilized. Our theoretical modelling, which includes quantum fluctuations and exact diagonalization results, suggests that mean-field theory, which has been widely adopted, does not explain the twist-angle dependence of the v = 1 phase diagram, and that correlation effects are crucial. Moreover, we realize two distinct stacking configurations between graphene and hBN, and find that both cases can yield a Chern insulator at v = 1. Our combined experimental and theoretical work upends the current mean-field paradigm, illuminates how quantum fluctuations and moiré effects shape the RHG/hBN phase diagram, and paves the way for future understanding and engineering of topological correlated states in rhombohedral graphene moire systems.
–
Presenters
-
Yves Kwan
- University of Texas at Dallas
- Princeton University