The ground state of charge-neutral graphene under perpendicular magnetic field was predicted to be a quantum Hall topological insulator with a ferromagnetic order and spin-filtered, helical edge channels. In most experiments, however, an insulating state is observed that is accounted for by lattice-scale interactions that promote a broken-symmetry state with gapped bulk and edge excitations. We tuned the ground state of the graphene zeroth Landau level to the topological phase through a suitable screening of the Coulomb interaction with the high dielectric constant of a strontium titanate (SrTiO) substrate. Robust helical edge transport emerged at magnetic fields as low as 1 tesla and withstanding temperatures up to 110 kelvin over micron-long distances. This versatile graphene platform may find applications in spintronics and topological quantum computation.
Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito interior s/n, Colonia Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán, C.P. 0451 Ciudad Universitaria, Ciudad de México, México, Ciudad de Mexico, 04510, MEXICO.
Magnetic fields can be introduced into discrete models of quantum systems by the Peierls substitution. For tight-binding Hamiltonians, the substitution results in a set of (Peierls) phases that are usually calculated from the magnetic vector potential. As the potential is not unique, a convenient gauge can be chosen to fit the geometry and simplify calculations.
The ability to generate Landau levels using a pseudomagnetic field (PMF), also called an artificial gauge field, opens up new pathways for exploring fundamental physics and developing novel applications based on topological protection. In this Letter, we simultaneously realize a PMF and a pseudoelectric field (PEF) on a photonic crystal platform and observe a rainbow effect of the Landau zeroth modes. While a PMF induces a series of discretized Landau levels of photons in a similar way as the quantum Hall effect for electrons, a PEF breaks the degeneracy of the flat band of Landau levels over a broad range.
The crystallographic restriction theorem constrains two-dimensional nematicity to display either Ising (Z_{2}) or three-state-Potts (Z_{3}) critical behaviors, both of which are dominated by amplitude fluctuations. Here, we use group theory and microscopic modeling to show that this constraint is circumvented in a 30°-twisted hexagonal bilayer due to its emergent quasicrystalline symmetries. We find a critical phase dominated by phase fluctuations of a Z_{6} nematic order parameter and bounded by two Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transitions, which displays only quasi-long-range nematic order.
Among 2-dimensional (2D) non-layered transition-metal chalcogenides (TMCs), cobalt sulfides are highly interesting because of their diverse structural phases and unique properties. The unique magnetic properties of TMCs have generated significant interest in their potential applications in future spintronic devices. In addition, their high conductivity, large specific surface area, and abundant active sites have attracted attention in the field of catalysis.
The moiré system provides a tunable platform for investigating exotic quantum phases. Particularly, the displacement field is crucial for tuning the electronic structures and topological properties of twisted double bilayer graphene (TDBG). Here, we present a series of -tunable topological transitions by the evolution of quantum Hall phases (QHPs) in the valence bands of TDBG.
