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arXiv · 2506.22325

Site-polarized Mott phases competing with a correlated metal in twisted WSe$_2$

Siheon Ryee·Lennart Klebl·Gautam Rai·Ammon Fischer·Valentin Crépel·Lede Xian·Angel Rubio·Dante M. Kennes·Roser Valentí·Andrew J. Millis·Antoine Georges·Tim O. Wehling
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Abstract

Twisted WSe$_2$ hosts superconductivity, metal-insulator phase transitions, and field-controllable Fermi-liquid to non-Fermi-liquid transport properties. In this work, we use dynamical mean-field theory to provide a coherent understanding of the electronic correlations shaping the twisted WSe$_2$ phase diagram. We find a correlated metal competing with three distinct site-polarized correlated insulators; the competition is controlled by interlayer potential difference and interaction strength. The insulators are characterized by a strong differentiation between orbitals with respect to carrier concentration and effective correlation strength. Upon doping, a strong particle-hole asymmetry emerges, resulting from a Zaanen-Sawatzky-Allen-type charge-transfer mechanism. The associated charge-transfer physics and proximity to a van Hove singularity in the correlated metal sandwiched between two site-polarized insulators naturally explains the interlayer potential-driven metal-to-insulator transition, particle-hole asymmetry in transport, and the coherence-incoherence crossover in $3.65^\circ$ twisted WSe$_2$.

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Siheon Ryee, Lennart Klebl, Gautam Rai, Ammon Fischer, Valentin Crépel, Lede Xian, Angel Rubio, Dante M. Kennes, Roser Valentí, Andrew J. Millis, Antoine Georges, Tim O. Wehling. 2025-06-27. Site-polarized Mott phases competing with a correlated metal in twisted WSe$_2$. https://doi.org/10.1103/dz6l-9z4n

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