We investigate the effect of uniaxial heterostrain on the interacting phase diagram of magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene. Using both self-consistent Hartree-Fock and density-matrix renormalization group calculations, we find that small strain values ($ε\sim 0.1 - 0.2 \%$) drive a zero-temperature phase transition between the symmetry-broken Kramers intervalley-coherent insulator and a nematic semi-metal. The critical strain lies within the range of experimentally observed strain values, and we therefore predict that strain is at least partly responsible for the sample-dependent experimental observations.
We address the effective tight-binding Hamiltonian that describes the insulating Mott state of twisted graphene bilayers at a magic angle. In that configuration, twisted bilayers form a honeycomb superlattice of localized states, characterized by the appearance of flat bands with four-fold degeneracy. After calculating the maximally localized superlattice Wannier wavefunctions, we derive the effective spin model that describes the Mott state. We suggest that the system is an exotic ferromagnetic Mott insulator, with well defined experimental signatures.
We consider magic-angle graphene in the doping regime around charge neutrality and study the connection between a recently proposed inter-valley coherent insulator at zero doping and the neighboring superconducting domes. The magic-angle graphene continuum model has an emergent U(1) valley-charge conservation symmetry, and an emergent SU(2) symmetry corresponding to opposite spin rotations in the two valleys. The inter-valley coherent insulator spontaneously breaks both these emergent symmetries, and as a result has four Goldstone modes which couple to doped charge carriers. We derive the effe…
We report on finite-size exact-diagonalization calculations in a Hilbert space defined by the continuum-model flat moiré bands of magic angle twisted bilayer graphene (MATBG). For moiré band filling $3>|ν|>2$, where superconductivity is strongest, we obtain evidence that the ground state is a spin ferromagnet. Near $|ν|=3$, we find Chern insulator ground states that have spontaneous spin, valley, and sublattice polarization, and demonstrate that the anisotropy energy in this order-parameter space is strongly band-filling-factor dependent. We emphasize that inclusion of the remote band self-ene…
We investigate magnetic instabilities in charge-neutral twisted bilayer graphene close to so-called "magic angles" using a combination of real-space Hartree-Fock and dynamical mean-field theories. In view of the large size of the unit cell close to magic angles, we examine a previously proposed rescaling that permits to mimic the same underlying flat minibands at larger twist angles. We find that localized magnetic states emerge for values of the Coulomb interaction $U$ that are significantly smaller than what would be required to render an isolated layer antiferromagnetic. However, this effec…
Using non-perturbative theoretical method, we address the problem of strong correlations in twisted bilayer-layer graphene at the magic angle. We concentrate on the solution without symmetry breaking, where conventional Mott insulating state is expected for all integer fillings. At Coulomb repulsion corresponding to dielectric constant $\varepsilon\approx 5$ and several integer fillings we find a Mott-semiconducting state, which simultaneously hosts the Mott state, and inside the Mott gap, a second much smaller semiconduting gap. The presence of these Mott-ingap states, which are located at th…
We study the single- and many-particle properties of a two-leg ladder model threaded by a flux with the legs coupled by a spatially varying term. Although a priori unrelated to twisted bilayer graphene (TBG), the model is found to have striking similarities: a quasi-flat low-energy band emerges with characteristics similar to that of magic angle TBG. We study the effect of interparticle interaction in our model using the density matrix renormalization group and find that when the band is quasi-flat, the ground state is a ferromagnetic Mott insulator. As the band becomes more dispersive, the sy…
Flat-bands in magic angle twisted bilayer graphene (MATBG) have recently emerged as a rich platform to explore strong correlations, superconductivity and mag-netism. However, the phases of MATBG in magnetic field, and what they reveal about the zero-field phase diagram remain relatively unchartered. Here we use magneto-transport and Hall measurements to reveal a rich sequence of wedge-like regions of quantized Hall conductance with Chern numbers C = +(-)1, +(-)2, +(-)3, +(-)4 which nucleate from integer fillings of the moire unit cell v = +(-)3, +(-)2, +(-)1, 0 correspondingly. We interpret th…
We consider twisted bilayer graphene on a transition metal dichalcogenide substrate, where proximity-induced spin-orbit coupling significantly alters the eight flat bands which occur near the magic angle. The resulting band structure features a pair of extremely flat bands across most of the mini-Brillouin zone. Further details depend sensitively on the symmetries of the heterostructure; we find semiconducting band structures when all two-fold rotations around in-plane axis are broken, and semi-metallic band structures otherwise. We calculate the Chern numbers of the different isolated bands, …
We investigate correlated insulating states in magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene (TBG) by the exact diagonalization method applied to the extended Hubbard model with interaction parameters recently evaluated in the realistic effective model. Our model can handle the competing interactions among Wannier orbitals owing to their significant overlap, which is a crucial but overlooked aspect of the magic-angle TBG. We propose two candidates for the correlated insulating states: spin- and valley-ferromagnetic band insulator and the Dirac semimetallic state for two flavors with peculiar renormaliz…
The discovery of different phases as a result of correlations, especially in low-dimensional materials, has been always an exciting and fundamental subject of research. Recent experiments on twisted bilayer graphene have revealed reentrant unconventional superconductivity as a function of doping as well as a Mott-like insulating phase when the two layers are twisted with respect to each other at certain "magic" angles for doping corresponding to two particles per moire unit cell. In this work we propose a microscopic model that takes into account interactions and the van Hove singularities in …
We consider a configuration of three stacked graphene monolayers with equal consecutive twist angles $θ$. Remarkably, in the chiral limit when interlayer coupling terms between $\textrm{AA}$ sites of the moiré pattern are neglected we find four perfectly flat bands (for each valley) at a sequence of magic angles which are exactly equal to the twisted bilayer graphene (TBG) magic angles divided by $\sqrt{2}$. Therefore, the first magic angle for equal-twist trilayer graphene (eTTG) in the chiral limit is $θ_{*} \approx 1.05^{\circ}/\sqrt{2} \approx 0.74^{\circ}$. We prove this relation analytic…
The flat bands of magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene (MATBG) host strongly-correlated electronic phases such as correlated insulators, superconductors and a strange-metal state. The latter state, believed to be key for understanding the electronic properties of MATBG, is obscured by various phase transitions and thus could not be unequivocally differentiated from a metal undergoing frequent electron-phonon collisions. Here, we report transport measurements in superconducting MATBG in which the correlated insulator states are suppressed by screening. The uninterrupted metallic ground state sh…
Recent experiments on magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene have discovered correlated insulating behavior and superconductivity at a fractional filling of an isolated narrow band. In this paper we show that magic-angle bilayer graphene exhibits another hallmark of strongly correlated systems --- a broad regime of $T-$linear resistivity above a small, density dependent, crossover temperature--- for a range of fillings near the correlated insulator. We also extract a transport "scattering rate", which satisfies a near Planckian form that is universally related to the ratio of $(k_BT/\hbar)$. Our…
Near a magic twist angle, the lowest energy conduction and valence bands of bilayer graphene moiré superlattices become extremely narrow. The band dispersion that remains is sensitive to the moiré's strain pattern, nonlocal tunneling between layers, and filling-factor dependent Hartree and exchange band renormalizations. In this article we analyze the influence of these band-structure details on the pattern of flavor-symmetry-breaking observed in this narrow band system, and on the associated pattern of Fermi surface reconstructions revealed by weak-field-Hall and Schubnikov-de Haas magneto-tr…
Using scanning probe microscopy and spectroscopy, we explore the spatial symmetry of the electronic wavefunctions of twisted bilayer graphene at the "magic angle" of 1.1 degrees. This small twist angle leads to a long wavelength moiré unit cell on the order of 13 nm and the appearance of two flat bands. As the twist angle is decreased, correlation effects increase until they are maximized at the magic angle. At this angle, the wavefunctions at the charge neutrality point show only C2 symmetry due to the emergence of a charge ordered state. As the system is doped, the symmetry of the wavefuncti…
Twisted bilayered graphenes at magic angles are systems housing long ranged periodicity of Moiré pattern together with short ranged periodicity associated with the individual graphenes. Such materials are a fertile ground for novel states largely driven by electronic correlations. Here we find that the ubiquitous Casimir force can serve as a platform for macroscopic manifestations of the quantum effects stemming from the magic angle bilayered graphenes properties and their phases determined by electronic correlations. By utilizing comprehensive calculations for the electronic and optical respo…
When two monolayers of graphene are stacked with a small relative twist angle, the resulting band structure exhibits a remarkably flat pair of bands at a sequence of 'magic angles' where correlation effects can induce a host of exotic phases. Here, we study a class of related models of $n$-layered graphene with alternating relative twist angle $\pm θ$ which exhibit magic angle flat bands coexisting with several Dirac dispersing bands at the Moiré K point. Remarkably, we find that the Hamiltonian for the multilayer system can be mapped exactly to a set of decoupled bilayers at {\it different} a…
Starting with twisted bilayer graphene, graphene-based moiré materials have recently been established as a new platform for studying strong electron correlations. In this paper, we study twisted graphene monolayers on trilayer graphene and demonstrate that this system can host flat bands when the twist angle is close to the magic-angle of 1.16$^\circ$. When monolayer graphene is twisted on ABA trilayer graphene, the flat bands are not isolated, but are intersected by a Dirac cone with a large Fermi velocity. In contrast, graphene twisted on ABC trilayer graphene (denoted AtABC) exhibits a gap …
Twisted Bilayer graphene (TBG) is known to feature isolated and relatively flat bands near charge neutrality, when tuned to special magic angles. However, different criteria for the magic angle such as the vanishing of Dirac speed, minimal bandwidth or maximal band gap to higher bands typically give different results. Here we study a modified continuum model for TBG which has an infinite sequence of magic angles $θ$ at which, we simultaneously find that (i) the Dirac speed vanishes (ii) absolutely flat bands appear at neutrality and (iii) bandgaps to the excited bands are maximized. When param…
We show that the flat bands in the chiral model of magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene remain exactly flat in the presence of a perpendicular magnetic field. This is shown by an exact mapping between the model and the lowest Landau level wavefunctions at an effective magnetic field, in which the external field is either augmented or reduced by one flux quantum per unit cell. When the external field reaches one flux quantum per unit cell, the model exhibits a topological phase transition. These findings allow us to analyze a Jain-series of Fractional Chern Insulators states in the exactly flat…
The importance of phonons in the strong correlation phenomena observed in twisted bilayer graphene (TBG) at the so-called magic-angle is under debate. Here we apply gate-dependent micro-Raman spectroscopy to monitor the G band linewidth in TBG devices of twist angles $θ=0^{\circ}$, $\sim 1.1^{\circ}$ (magic-angle) and $\sim 7^{\circ}$ (large angle). The results show a broad and p/n-asymmetric doping behavior at the magic-angle, in clear contrast to the behavior observed in twist angles above and below. Atomistic modeling reproduces the experimental observations, revealing how the unique electr…
We propose a method for studying the strong interaction regimes in twisted bilayer graphene using hybrid Wannier functions, that are Wannier-like in one direction and Bloch-like in the other. We focus on the active bands as given by the continuum model proposed by Bistritzer and MacDonald, and discuss the properties of corresponding hybrid Wannier functions. We then employ the method for a study of the fillings of $\pm 3$ electrons per moiré cell using the Hartree-Fock method. We discuss at length different regimes under which a quantized anomalous Hall effect is seen in these two fillings.
A growing body of experimental work suggests that magic angle twisted bilayer graphene exhibits a "cascade" of spontaneous symmetry breaking transitions, sparking interest in the potential relationship between symmetry-breaking and superconductivity. However, it has proven difficult to find experimental probes which can unambiguously identify the nature of the symmetry breaking. Here we show how atomically-resolved scanning tunneling microscopy can be used as a fingerprint of symmetry breaking order. By analyzing the pattern of sublattice polarization and "Kekulé" distortions in small magnetic…
In contrast to the fractional quantum Hall (FQH) effect, where electron density fixes the applied magnetic field, fractional Chern insulators (FCIs) can realize FQH states in comparatively weak or even zero magnetic fields. Previous theoretical work highlighted magic angle graphene as a promising FCI platform, satisfying the twin requirements of flat bands and lowest-Landau-level-like quantum geometry. Indeed, recent experiments have demonstrated FCIs in magic angle graphene with weak magnetic fields. Here we conduct a detailed theoretical study of the most prominent FCI state observed, and cl…
The correlated insulator (CI) states and the recently discovered density wave (DW) states in magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene (TBG) have stimulated intense research interest. However, up to date, the nature of these "featureless" correlated states with zero Chern numbers are still elusive, and are lack of characteristic experimental signature. Thus, an experimental probe to identify the characters of these featureless CI and DW states are urgently needed. In this work, we theoretically study the correlated insulators and density-wave states at different integer and fractional fillings of t…
We show that the insulating states of magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene support a series of collective modes corresponding to local particle-hole excitations on triangular lattice sites. Our theory is based on a continuum model of the magic angle flat bands. When the system is insulating at moiré band filling $ν=-3$, our calculations show that the ground state supports seven low-energy modes that lie well below the charge gap throughout the moiré Brillouin zone, one of which couples strongly to THz photons. The low-energy collective modes are faithfully described by a model with a local $SU…
Tuning interactions between Dirac states in graphene has attracted enormous interest because it can modify the electronic spectrum of the two-dimensional material, enhance electron correlations, and give rise to novel condensed-matter phases such as superconductors, Mott insulators, Wigner crystals and quantum anomalous Hall insulators. Previous works predominantly focus on the flat band dispersion of coupled Dirac states from different graphene layers. In this work, we propose a new route to realizing flat band physics in monolayer graphene under a periodic modulation from substrates. We take…
The ability to control the strength of interaction is essential for studying quantum phenomena emerging from a system of correlated fermions. For example, the isotope effect illustrates the effect of electron-phonon coupling on superconductivity, providing an important experimental support for the BCS theory. In this work, we report a new device geometry where the magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene (tBLG) is placed in close proximity to a Bernal bilayer graphene (BLG) separated by a 3 nm thick barrier. Using charge screening from the Bernal bilayer, the strength of electron-electron Coulomb …
Spontaneous symmetry breaking plays a pivotal role in many areas of physics, engendering a variety of excitations from sound modes in solids to pions in nuclear physics. Equally important excitations are solitons, nonlinear configurations of the symmetry breaking field, which can enjoy exceptional stability as in the Skyrme model of nuclear forces. Here we argue that similar models may describe magic angle graphene, a remarkable new material . When the angle between two sheets of graphene is near the magic angle of $\sim 1^\circ$, insulating behavior is observed, which gives way to superconduc…
This paper presents a mathematical and numerical analysis of the flatband wavefunctions occurring in the chiral model of twisted bilayer graphene at the "magic" twist angles. We show that the chiral model possesses an exact intra-valley inversion symmetry. Writing the flatband wavefunction as a product of a lowest Landau level quantum Hall state and a spinor, we show that the components of the spinor are anti-quantum Hall wavefunctions related by the inversion symmetry operation introduced here. We then show numerically that as one moves from the lowest to higher magic angles, the spinor compo…
Due to its potential connection with nematicity, electronic anisotropy has been the subject of intense research effort on a wide variety of material platforms. The emergence of spatial anisotropy not only offers a characterization of material properties of metallic phases, which cannot be accessed via conventional transport techniques, but it also provides a unique window into the interplay between Coulomb interaction and broken symmetry underlying the electronic order. In this work, we utilize a new scheme of angle-resolved transport measurement (ARTM) to characterize electron anisotropy in m…
Twisted bilayer graphene (TBG) has been experimentally observed to exhibit almost flat bands when the twisting occurs at certain magic angles. In this letter, we report new results on the continuum model of twisted bilayer graphene and its electronic band structure. Under we show that in the approximation of vanishing AA-coupling, the magic angles (at which there exist entirely flat bands) are given as the eigenvalues of a non-hermitian operator, and that all bands start squeezing exponentially fast as the angle $θ$ tends to $0$. In particular, as the interaction potential changes, the dynamic…
In this work we address the re-entrance of magic-angle phenomena (band flatness and quantum-geometric transport) in twisted bilayer graphene (TBG) subjected to strong magnetic fluxes $\pm Φ_0$, $\pm 2 Φ_0$, $\pm 3 Φ_0$... ($Φ_0 = h/e$ is the flux quantum per moiré cell). The moiré translation invariance is restored at the integer fluxes, for which we calculate the TBG band structure using accurate atomistic models with lattice relaxations. Similarly to the zero-flux physics outside the magic angle condition, the reported effect breaks down rapidly with the twist. We conclude that the magic-ang…
In the magic angle twisted bilayer graphene (MATBG), one of the most remarkable observations is the $C_3$-symmetry-breaking nematic state. We identify that the nematicity in MATBG is the $E$-symmetry ferro bond order, which is the modulation of correlated hopping integrals owing to the $E$-symmetry particle-hole pairing condensation. The nematicity in MATBG originates from prominent quantum interference among $SU(4)$ valley+spin composite fluctuations. This novel "valley + spin fluctuation interference mechanism" is revealed by the density wave equation analysis for realistic multiorbital Hubb…
Twisted bilayer graphene with a twist angle of around 1.1° features a pair of isolated flat electronic bands and forms a strongly correlated electronic platform. Here, we use scanning tunneling microscopy to probe local properties of highly tunable twisted bilayer graphene devices and show that the flat bands strongly deform when aligned with the Fermi level. At half filling of the bands, we observe the development of gaps originating from correlated insulating states. Near charge neutrality, we find a previously unidentified correlated regime featuring a substantially enhanced flat band split…
Moiré superlattices in two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures provide 20 an efficient way to engineer electron band properties. The recent discovery of exotic quantum phases and their interplay in twisted bilayer graphene (tBLG) has built this moiré system one of the most renowned condensed matter platforms (1-10). So far the studies of tBLG has been mostly focused on the lowest two flat moiré bands at the first magic angle θm1 ~ 1.1°, leaving high-order moiré bands and magic angles largely unexplored. Here we report 25 an observation of multiple well-isolated flat moiré ban…
We investigate the correlated electrons in the magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene by using the slave-rotor mean-field theory. Owing to the extended figure of Wannier orbitals, we study the two-orbital cluster Hubbard model with spin-valley fourfold degeneracy, focusing around half filling of valence bands below the neutrality point. The theory predicts multiple Mott insulator phases at fractional fillings not only for integer charges per moir{é} site, and it demonstrates that long-range electron hopping is highly suppressed because multiple-charge excitations are induced. Furthermore, the Ke…
In the past two years, magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene has emerged as a uniquely versatile experimental platform that combines metallic, superconducting, magnetic and insulating phases in a single crystal. In particular the ability to tune the superconducting state with a gate voltage opened up intriguing prospects for novel device functionality. Here we present the first demonstration of a device based on the interplay between two distinct phases in adjustable regions of a single magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene crystal. We electrostatically define the superconducting and insulating …
An extended Hubbard model on a honeycomb lattice with two orbitals per site at charge neutrality is investigated with unbiased large-scale quantum Monte Carlo simulations. The Fermi velocity of the Dirac fermions is renormalized as the cluster charge interaction increases, until a mass term emerges and a quantum phase transition from Dirac semi-metal to valence bond solid (VBS) insulator is established. The quantum critical point is discovered to belong to 3D $N=4$ Gross-Neveu chiral XY universality with the critical exponents obtained at high precision. Further enhancement of the interaction …
Graphene moire superlattices have emerged as a platform hosting and abundance of correlated insulating, topological, and superconducting phases. While the origins of strong correlations and non-trivial topology are shown to be directly linked to flat moire bands, the nature and mechanism of superconductivity remain enigmatic. In particular, only alternating twisted stacking geometries of bilayer and trilayer graphene are found to exhibit robust superconductivity manifesting as zero resistance and Fraunhofer interference patterns. Here we demonstrate that magic-angle twisted tri-, quadri-, and …
The electronic properties of twisted bilayer graphene (TBG) can be dramatically different from those of a single graphene layer, in particular when the two layers are rotated relative to each other by a small angle. TBG has recently attracted a great deal of interest, sparked by the discovery of correlated insulating and superconducting states, for twist angle $θ$ close to a so-called 'magic angle' $\approx 1.1°$. In this work, we unveil, via near-field optical microscopy, a collective plasmon mode in charge-neutral TBG near the magic angle, which is dramatically different from the ordinary si…
Twistronics heterostructures provide a novel route to control the electronic single particle velocity and thereby to engineer strong effective interactions. Here we show that the reverse may also hold, i.e. that these interactions strongly renormalize the band structure. We demonstrate this mechanism for mirror-symmetric magic angle twisted trilayer graphene at charge neutrality and in the vicinity of a phase transition which can be described by an Ising Gross-Neveu critical point corresponding, e.g., to the onset of valley Hall or Hall order. While the non-interacting model displays massless …
The discovery of correlated states and superconductivity in magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene (MATBG) has established moiré quantum matter as a new platform to explore interaction-driven and topological quantum phenomena. Multitudes of phases have been realized in moiré systems, but surprisingly, robust superconductivity has been one of the least common of all, initially found in MATBG and only more recently also in magic-angle twisted trilayer graphene (MATTG). While MATBG and MATTG share some similar characteristics, they also exhibit substantial differences, such as in their response to …
Flat band electronic modes are responsible for superconductivity in twisted bilayer graphene (TBG) rotated at magic angles. From there other magic angles can be found for any multilayered twisted graphene systems. Eventually, this lead to the discovery of the highest ever known electron-electron correlated material. Moreover, the quantum phase diagram of TBG is akin to those observed among high-$T_{c}$ superconductors and thus there is a huge research effort to understand TBG in the hope of clarifying the physics behind such strong correlations. A particularity of the TBG is the coexistence of…
