arXiv subjects

Jiayong Xiao

Publications and source records attributed to Jiayong Xiao.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Hydrostatic Pressure-enhanced correlated magnetism and Chern insulator in moir'e WSe2

Moiré semiconductors offer flat bands where Coulomb interactions and band topology intertwine, while interlayer coupling plays a central role in forming the moiré potential. However, limited interlayer coupling strength and the lack of efficient tuning methods hinder further exploration of correlated phenomena in moiré semiconductors. Here we introduce a cryogenic dual-gated diamond-anvil platform using helium as a pressure medium, enabling reversible hydrostatic tuning together with magneto-optical spectroscopy in twisted bilayer WSe2. Pressure enhances the moiré potential, redshifts excitons, and stabilizes Stoner ferromagnetism otherwise absent at a 3.1-degree twist. Simultaneously, the half-filled C = 1 Chern insulating state strengthens, exhibiting a reduced saturation field. Moreover, we observe a topological phase transition from a Chern insulator to a Mott insulator at around 2 GPa. First-principles calculations reveal that a Gamma-to-K valence-band-maximum switching drives this transition by converting an Ising-like topological K-valley miniband into a spin-degenerate trivial Gamma miniband. Our findings demonstrate hydrostatic pressure as a powerful, continuous control axis for correlated magnetism and topological band engineering in moiré materials.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2026

Mechanical sensing of metamagnetic tricriticality in two-dimensional CrI3

Layered Ising metamagnets are antiferromagnetic (AF) materials consisting of monolayer Ising ferromagnets coupled to each other via interlayer AF interactions. They exhibit rich magnetic phase diagrams, featuring tricritical and critical end points, due to the competing magnetic interactions and the Ising anisotropy. While conventional thermodynamic probes can identify these critical points in bulk Ising metamagnets, achieving this in the two-dimensional (2D) limit, where enhanced fluctuation effects can substantially modify critical phenomena, remains to be realized. Here, we combine specific heat capacity (C_V) and magnetic circular dichroism measurements to identify these critical points, extract a tricritical exponent, and map out the complete magnetic phase diagram of 2D Ising metamagnetic CrI3. This is achieved in a nanomechanical device of 6-layer CrI3, in which a direct measurement of the temperature derivative of its mechanical resonance frequency gives C_V. The tricritical point is identified by the onset of an abrupt spin-flip transition on one side and, on the other side, by a vanishing specific heat λ-anomaly for a continuous AF phase transition. In contrast, only the spin-flip transition remains near the critical end point. Our results establish nanomechanical calorimetry as a general route to classify metamagnetic phase transitions and to study multicritical phenomena in 2D magnets.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2025

Moiré-modulated $Γ$ valley in twisted bilayer and twisted double-bilayer MoTe$_2$

Twisted MoTe$_2$ hosts intriguing correlated quantum phenomena including the fractional quantum anomalous Hall effect in twisted bilayer (t-BL) MoTe$_2$ near 3.7$^\circ$, which is sensitive to the twist angle and moiré superlattices. Here, we directly visualize the twist-angle-modulated electronic structure of t-BL and twisted double-bilayer (t-DBL) near this critical angle. We find that the moiré superlattice not only modifies the relative energy between $Γ$ and K valleys in t-BL MoTe$_2$, but also strongly reconstructs the $Γ$ valley for both t-BL and t-DBL. Specifically, the deep $p_z$-derived band at $Γ$ exhibits a distinct splitting that systematically varies with increasing twist angle. Theoretical analysis suggests that this modulation arises from the twist-angle-dependent lattice relaxation, especially interfacial corrugations. Our work directly visualizes the moiré-modulated electronic structure and provides key spectroscopic information of lattice relaxation and interlayer interactions underlying the physics of twisted MoTe$_2$.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2025

From fractional Chern insulators to topological electronic crystals in moiré MoTe2: quantum geometry tuning via remote layer

The quantum geometry of Bloch wavefunctions,encoded in the Berry curvature and quantum metric, is believed to be a decisive ingredient in stabilizing fractional quantum anomalous Hall (FQAH) effect(i.e., fractional Chern insulator, FCI, at zero magnetic field), against competing symmetry-breaking phases.A direct experimental demonstration of quantum geometry-driven switching between distinct correlated topological phases, however, has been lacking. Here, we report experimental evidence of such a switch in a high-quality 3.7 twisted MoTe2 (tMoTe2) device consisting of both A-A bilayer and A-AB trilayer regions. While composite Fermi liquid CFL/FQAH phases are established in A-A tMoTe2,the A-AB region-effectively an A-A moire bilayer proximitized by a remote B layer-develops a series of topological electronic crystal (TEC, also referred to as generalized QAH crystal, QAHC) states with integer quantized Hall conductance at commensurate fractional fillings v=1/2, 2/3, and an incommensurate filling factor v=0.53.The electrostatic phase diagram is mapped out by combined transport and optical measurements, showing that these TEC states emerge within the first moir'e valence band prior to any charge transfer to the B layer. Exact diagonalization (ED) incorporating the remote-layer-induced intralayer potential demonstrates a transition from a CFL-like manifold in the A-A limit to a Chern number C=1 ground-state consistent with a TEC at v=1/2 , accompanied by the further breakdown of ideal band geometry. Our results provide experimental evidence of quantum geometry-tuned competition between FQAH/CFL and TEC phases in a moiré Chern band and pave the way for further exploring correlation-driven topological phenomena by tuning quantum geometry.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2025

Evidence of competing ground states between fractional Chern insulator and antiferromagnetism in moiré MoTe2

Two-dimensional moire materials present unprecedented opportunities to explore quantum phases of matter arising from the interplay of band topology and strong correlations.One of the most striking examples is the recent observation of fractional quantum anomalous Hall (FQAH) effect in twisted bilayer MoTe$_2$ (tMoTe2) with relatively large twist angles(~3.7deg-3.9deg). The electronic ground states are usually expected to be sensitive to the twist angle, as the twist angle determines the electron bandwidth and correlation strength in the moire system. Here, we report the observation of unexpected competing magnetic ground states in tMoTe2 moire superlattice, on which balance can be tipped by both twist angle and electric field (E). Specifically, we observed anomalous antiferromagnetic (AFM) ground states with zero Hall resistance at both v_h=1 and 2/3, at intermediate twist angles ~3deg. The AFM orders are suppressed by applying vertical E, and emergent ferromagnetism accompanied by integer Chern insulator (ICI) or fractional Chern insulator (FCI) states are observed near the critical E (E_c) of moire superlattice symmetry transition. Our results demonstrate tMoTe2 as a fascinating platform for exploring unexpected correlated phases with nontrivial topology and fractional excitations and point to electric-field-controlled ultralow-power spin-valleytronic devices.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Interplay between topology and correlations in the second moiré band of twisted bilayer MoTe2

Topological flat bands formed in two-dimensional lattice systems offer unique opportunity to study the fractional phases of matter in the absence of an external magnetic field. Celebrated examples include fractional quantum anomalous Hall (FQAH) effects and fractional topological insulators. Recently, FQAH effects have been experimentally realized in both the twisted bilayer MoTe2 (tMoTe2) system and the rhombohedral stacked multilayer graphene/hBN moiré systems. To date, experimental studies mainly focus on the first moiré flat band, except a very recent work that studied novel transport properties in higher moiré bands of a 2.1° tMoTe2 device. Here, we present the systematical transport study of approximately 3° tMoTe2 devices, especially for the second moiré band. At ν = -2 and -4, time-reversal-symmetric single and double quantum spin Hall states formed, consistent with the previous observation in 2.1° tMoTe2 device. On the other hand, we observed ferromagnetism in the second moiré band, and a Chern insulator state driven by out-of-plane magnetic fields at ν = -3. At ν = -2.2 to -2.7, finite temperature resistivity minimum with 1/T scaling at low temperatures, and large out-of-plane negative magnetoresistance have been observed. Applying out-of-plane electric field can induce quantum phase transitions at both integer and fractional filling factors. Our studies pave the way for realizing tunable topological states and other unexpected magnetic phases beyond the first moiré flat band based on twisted MoTe2 platform.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2023

Anisotropic quark stars in energy-momentum squared gravity with an interacting quark equation of state

We investigate anisotropic quark stars within the context of energy-momentum squared gravity (EMSG), assuming the internal composition consists of homogeneous, charge-neutral 3-flavor interacting quark matter with ${\cal O}(m_s^4)$ corrections. We performed numerical calculations of the equation of state (EoS) and the modified Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff (TOV) structure equation. Additionally, we discussed the impact of the GB coupling parameter $α$ on the mass-radius relationship. Furthermore, we compared our results with astronomical observational data. Our research offers a new perspective, proposing that in EMSG, accounting for anisotropy could lead to denser stars than in isotropic scenarios.

gr-qc↗