Correlated States in Strained Twisted Bilayer Graphenes Away from the Magic Angle

Graphene moiré superlattice formed by rotating two graphene sheets can host strongly correlated and topological states when flat bands form at so-called magic angles. Here, we report that, for a twisting angle far away from the magic angle, the heterostrain induced during stacking heterostructures can also create flat bands. Combining a direct visualization of strain effect in twisted bilayer graphene moiré superlattices and transport measurements, features of correlated states appear at "non-magic" angles in twisted bilayer graphene under the heterostrain. Observing correlated states in these "non-standard" conditions can enrich the understanding of the possible origins of the correlated states and widen the freedom in tuning the moiré heterostructures and the scope of exploring the correlated physics in moiré superlattices.

s-wave superconductivity in the noncentrosymmetric W3Al2C superconductor: an NMR study

We report on a microscopic study of the noncentrosymmetric superconductor W₃Al₂C (withT_c= 7.6 K), mostly by means of²⁷Al- and¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Since in this material the density of states at the Fermi level is dominated by the tungsten's 5dorbitals, we expect a sizeable spin-orbit coupling (SOC) effect. The normal-state electronic properties of W₃Al₂C resemble those of a standard metal, but with a Korringa product 1/(T₁T) significantly smaller than that of metallic Al, reflecting the marginal role played bys-electrons. In the superconducting state, we observe a reduction of the Knight shift and an exponential decrease of the NMR relaxation rate 1/T₁, typical ofs-wave superconductivity (SC). This is further supported by the observation of a small but distinct coherence peak just belowT_cin the¹³C NMR relaxation-rate, in agreement with the fully-gapped superconducting state inferred from the electronic specific-heat data well belowT_c. The above features are compared to those of members of the same family, in particular, Mo₃Al₂C, often claimed to exhibit unconventional SC. We discuss why, despite the enhanced SOC, W₃Al₂C does not show spin-triplet features in its superconducting state and consider the broader consequences of our results for noncentrosymmetric superconductors in general.

Tunable Orbital Ferromagnetism at Noninteger Filling of a Moiré Superlattice

The flat bands resulting from moiré superlattices exhibit fascinating correlated electron phenomena such as correlated insulators, ( Nature 2018, 556 (7699), 80-84), ( Nature Physics 2019, 15 (3), 237) superconductivity, ( Nature 2018, 556 (7699), 43-50), ( Nature 2019, 572 (7768), 215-219) and orbital magnetism. ( Science 2019, 365 (6453), 605-608), ( Nature 2020, 579 (7797), 56-61), ( Science 2020, 367 (6480), 900-903) Such magnetism has been observed only at particular integer multiples of n₀, the density corresponding to one electron per moiré superlattice unit cell. Here, we report the experimental observation of ferromagnetism at noninteger filling (NIF) of a flat Chern band in a ABC-TLG/hBN moiré superlattice. This state exhibits prominent ferromagnetic hysteresis behavior with large anomalous Hall resistivity in a broad region of densities centered in the valence miniband at n = -2.3n₀. We observe that, not only the magnitude of the anomalous Hall signal, but also the sign of the hysteretic ferromagnetic response can be modulated by tuning the carrier density and displacement field. Rotating the sample in a fixed magnetic field demonstrates that the ferromagnetism is highly anisotropic and likely purely orbital in character.

Structural, electronic and magnetic properties of weakly correlated metal Sr2CrTiO6: a first principles study

Structural, electronic and magnetic behaviour of a less-explored material Sr₂CrTiO₆has been investigated usingabinitiocalculations with generalized gradient approximation (GGA) and GGA +Umethods, whereUis the Hubbard parameter. For each of the three possible Cr/Ti cationic arrangements in the unit cell, considered in this work, the non-magnetic band structure shows distinct traits with significant flat-band regions leading to larget_2gdensity of states around the Fermi energy. The Cr⁴⁺ion in Sr₂CrTiO₆, which is ad²system, shows a reverse splitting of thet_2gorbitals. The calculated hopping matrix contains non-zero off-diagonal elements between thed_xzandd_yzorbitals, while thed_xyorbitals remain largely unmixed. A minimal tight binding model successfully reproduces the sixt_2gbands around the Fermi energy. The Fermi surface shows a two-dimensional nesting feature for the layered arrangement of Cr and Ti atoms. Fixed spin moment studies suggest that the magnetism in this compound cannot be explained by Stoner's criterion of an itinerant band ferromagnet. In the absence of HubbardUterm, the ground state is a half-metallic ferromagnet. Calculations for the anti-ferromagnetic spin arrangement show re-arrangement of orbital character resulting in (a) narrowd_xz/d_yzbands and sharp peaks in the density of states at the Fermi energy and (b) highly dispersived_xybands with a broader density of states around the Fermi energy. The metallicity persists even with increasingUfor both the spin arrangements, thus suggesting that Sr₂CrTiO₆belongs to the class of weakly correlated metals, while the shifting of O 2pstates towards the Fermi energy withUindicates a negative charge-transfer character in Sr₂CrTiO₆.

Evidence of Orbital Ferromagnetism in Twisted Bilayer Graphene Aligned to Hexagonal Boron Nitride

We have previously reported ferromagnetism evinced by a large hysteretic anomalous Hall effect in twisted bilayer graphene (tBLG). Subsequent measurements of a quantized Hall resistance and small longitudinal resistance confirmed that this magnetic state is a Chern insulator. Here, we report that when tilting the sample in an external magnetic field, the ferromagnetism is highly anisotropic. Because spin-orbit coupling is weak in graphene, such anisotropy is unlikely to come from spin but rather favors theories in which the ferromagnetism is orbital. We know of no other case in which ferromagnetism has a purely orbital origin. For an applied in-plane field larger than 5 T, the out-of-plane magnetization is destroyed, suggesting a transition to a new phase.

Effect of Electronic Correlations on the Electronic Structure, Magnetic and Optical Properties of the Ternary RCuGe Compounds with R = Tb, Dy, Ho, Er

In this study, the ab initio and experimental results for RCuGe ternary intermetallics were reported for R = Tb, Dy, Ho, Er. Our theoretical calculations of the electronic structure, employing local spin density approximation accounting for electron-electron correlations in the 4f shell of Tb, Dy, Ho, Er ions were carried in DFT+U method. The optical properties of the RCuGe ternary compounds were studied at a broad range of wavelengths. The spectral and electronic characteristics were obtained. The theoretical electron densities of states were taken to interpret the experimental energy dependencies of the experimental optical conductivity in the interband light-absorption region. From the band calculations, the 4f shell of the rare-earth ions was shown to provide the major contribution to the electronic structure, magnetic and optical properties of the RCuGe intermetallics. The accounting for electron-electron correlations in Tb, Dy, Ho, Er resulted in a good agreement between the calculated and experimental magnetic and optical characteristics.

Correlated Topological States in Graphene Nanoribbon Heterostructures

Finite graphene nanoribbon (GNR) heterostructures host intriguing topological in-gap states (Rizzo, D. J.; et al. Nature2018, 560, 204). These states may be localized either at the bulk edges or at the ends of the structure. Here we show that correlation effects (not included in previous density functional simulations) play a key role in these systems: they result in increased magnetic moments at the ribbon edges accompanied by a significant energy renormalization of the topological end states, even in the presence of a metallic substrate. Our computed results are in excellent agreement with the experiments. Furthermore, we discover a striking, novel mechanism that causes an energy splitting of the nonzero-energy topological end states for a weakly screened system. We predict that similar effects should be observable in other GNR heterostructures as well.

Excitons: Modulation of New Excitons in Transition Metal Dichalcogenide‐Perovskite Oxide System (Adv. Sci. 12/2019)

In article number 1900446, Shi Jie Wang, Wenjing Zhang, Andrivo Rusydi, Andrew T. S. Wee, and co‐workers observe high‐energy excitons that are generated by a new mechanism in monolayer‐MoS₂ on SrTiO₃, which are attributed to the change in many‐body interactions that couples with interfacial orbital‐hybridization. The interfacial interactions lead to a fermi‐surface feature at the interface. The results provide an understanding of 2D‐transition metal dichalcogenides heterointerfaces and show the crucial role that many‐body interactions play at the atomic level.

Modulation of New Excitons in Transition Metal Dichalcogenide-Perovskite Oxide System

The exciton, a quasi-particle that creates a bound state of an electron and a hole, is typically found in semiconductors. It has attracted major attention in the context of both fundamental science and practical applications. Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are a new class of 2D materials that include direct band-gap semiconductors with strong spin-orbit coupling and many-body interactions. Manipulating new excitons in semiconducting TMDs could generate a novel means of application in nanodevices. Here, the observation of high-energy excitonic peaks in the monolayer-MoS2 on a SrTiO3 heterointerface generated by a new complex mechanism is reported, based on a comprehensive study that comprises temperature-dependent optical spectroscopies and first-principles calculations. The appearance of these excitons is attributed to the change in many-body interactions that occurs alongside the interfacial orbital hybridization and spin-orbit coupling brought about by the excitonic effect propagated from the substrate. This has further led to the formation of a Fermi-surface feature at the interface. The results provide an atomic-scale understanding of the heterointerface between monolayer-TMDs and perovskite oxide and highlight the importance of spin-orbit-charge-lattice coupling on the intrinsic properties of atomic-layer heterostructures, which open up a way to manipulate the excitonic effects in monolayer TMDs via an interfacial system.

Investigation of real materials with strong electronic correlations by the LDA+DMFT method

Materials with strong electronic correlations are at the cutting edge of experimental and theoretical studies, capturing the attention of researchers for a great variety of interesting phenomena: metal-insulator, phase and magnetic spin transitions, `heavy fermion' systems, interplay between magnetic order and superconductivity, appearance and disappearance of local magnetic moments, and transport property anomalies. It is clear that the richness of physical phenomena for these compounds is a result of partially filled 3d, 4f or 5f electron shells with local magnetic moments preserved in the solid state. Strong interactions of d and f electrons with each other and with itinerant electronic states of the material are responsible for its anomalous properties. Electronic structure calculations for strongly correlated materials should explicitly take into account Coulombic interactions between d or f electrons. Recent advances in this field are related to the development of the LDA+DMFT method, which combines local density approximation (LDA) with dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT) to account for electronic correlation effects. In recent years, LDA+DMFT has allowed the successful treatment not only of simple systems but also of complicated real compounds. Nowadays, the LDA+DMFT method is the state-of-the-art tool for investigating correlated metals and insulators, spin and metal-insulator transitions (MIT) in transition-metal compounds in paramagnetic and magnetically ordered phases.