Evidence for nematic superconducting gap in moiré graphene

ORAL

Abstract

Unconventional superconductivity often emerges in strongly correlated systems, where electron interactions give rise to spontaneous symmetry breaking and emergent quantum phases. While superconductivity in graphene-based moiré materials has been observed to coexist with a variety of symmetry-broken states, the nature of the pairing symmetry remains elusive. In this work, we explore the superconducting phase of magic-angle twisted trilayer graphene using a hybrid van der Waals platform that combines tunneling spectroscopy and quantum transport. Our measurements uncover a distinct anisotropy in the tunneling response under controlled in-plane magnetic fields, which evolves systematically across the superconducting phase diagram. This tunneling anisotropic behavior is closely tied to the presence of superconductivity and disappears upon its suppression by temperature or magnetic field. These observations suggest an interaction-driven nematic superconducting phase in magic-angle twisted trilayer graphene, shedding light on the microscopic mechanism and pairing symmetry of moiré graphene systems.

Presenters

  • Shuwen Sun

    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Authors

  • Shuwen Sun

    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Jeong Min Park

    • Princeton University
  • Kenji Watanabe

    • National Institute for Materials Science
    • Research Center for Functional Materials, National Institute of Materials Science, 1-1 Namiki Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044, Japan
  • Takashi Taniguchi

    • National Institute for Materials Science
    • Research Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics, National Institute for Materials Science
    • International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics, National Institute of Materials Science, 1-1 Namiki Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044, Japan
    • Research Center for Functional Materials, National Institute of Materials Science, 1-1 Namiki Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044, Japan
  • Pablo Jarillo-Herrero

    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology