Moiré-driven topological electronic crystals in twisted graphene

Ruiheng Su, Dacen Waters, Boran Zhou, Kenji Watanabe, Takashi Taniguchi, Ya-Hui Zhang, Matthew Yankowitz () and Joshua Folk ()
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Ruiheng Su: University of British Columbia
Dacen Waters: University of Washington
Boran Zhou: Johns Hopkins University
Kenji Watanabe: National Institute for Materials Science
Takashi Taniguchi: National Institute for Materials Science
Ya-Hui Zhang: Johns Hopkins University
Matthew Yankowitz: University of Washington
Joshua Folk: University of British Columbia

Nature, 2025, vol. 637, issue 8048, 1084-1089

Abstract: Abstract In a dilute two-dimensional electron gas, Coulomb interactions can stabilize the formation of a Wigner crystal1–3. Although Wigner crystals are topologically trivial, it has been predicted that electrons in a partially filled band can break continuous translational symmetry and time-reversal symmetry spontaneously, resulting in a type of topological electron crystal known as an anomalous Hall crystal4–11. Here we report signatures of a generalized version of the anomalous Hall crystal in twisted bilayer–trilayer graphene, whose formation is driven by the moiré potential. The crystal forms at a band filling of one electron per four moiré unit cells (ν = 1/4) and quadruples the unit-cell area, coinciding with an integer quantum anomalous Hall effect. The Chern number of the state is exceptionally tunable, and it can be switched reversibly between +1 and −1 by electric and magnetic fields. Several other topological electronic crystals arise in a modest magnetic field, originating from ν = 1/3, 1/2, 2/3 and 3/2. The quantum geometry of the interaction-modified bands is likely to be very different from that of the original parent band, which enables possible future discoveries of correlation-driven topological phenomena.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08239-6

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