Published September 20, 2024 | Version v1
Journal article

Topological quantum phase transitions driven by a displacement field in twisted MoTe2 bilayers

  • 1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, California State University, Northridge, California 91330, USA
  • 2. Institute of Quantum Information and Matter and Department of Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA

Description

We study twisted bilayer MoTe2 systems at fractional fillings of the lowest hole band under an applied out-of-plane displacement field. By employing exact diagonalization in finite-size systems, we systematically map out the ground state quantum phase diagram for two filling fractions, ν=1/3 and 2/3, and provide a detailed characterization of each phase. We identify the phase transition between a fractional Chern insulator (FCI) and a layer-polarized charge density wave (CDW) at a filling fraction of ν=1/3, denoted as CDW-1. Additionally, we demonstrate that the competition between the displacement field and twist angle leads to another phase transition from a layer-polarized CDW-1 to a layer-hybridized CDW-2, identified as a first-order phase transition. Furthermore, at ν=2/3 filling of the lowest hole band, we observe that the FCI remains stable against the displacement field until it approaches proximity to a transition in single-particle band topology at a smaller twist angle.

Additional details

Identifiers

DOI
10.1103/PhysRevB.110.125142;
arXiv
arXiv:2405.08181;
Crossref Funder ID
10.13039/100000001;

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Physical Review B
Journal Volume
110
Journal Issue
12
Journal Page Range
20 pgs.
ISSN
1550-235X

Optional Information

Copyright
©2024 American Physical Society
Contract/Grant/Project number
DMR-1828019; PHY-2216774
Notes
Contact Email: Contact author: sharmaprakash078@gmail.com; Contact Email: Contact author: yang.peng@csun.edu; Contact Email: Contact author: donna.sheng@csun.edu; Record automatically processed
Funding organization
National Science Foundation