arXiv subjects

Kenji Watanabe

Publications and source records attributed to Kenji Watanabe.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2026

Metastable magnetic domains and the anomalous $B_\parallel=0$ resistance peak in twisted double bilayer graphene

In graphene moirés, valley polarization gives rise to orbital magnetism, manifested as an anomalous Hall effect and resulting in Barkhausen jumps in longitudinal resistance when changing domain configurations modify quasiparticle scattering. Beyond a simple picture of polarized domains, however, spin and valley textures within and between the domains are less well understood, as is the effect of these textures on transport. In the valley-polarized quarter-metal state of twisted double bilayer graphene, a sharp and metastable peak in longitudinal resistance often appears at zero in-plane magnetic field, whose microscopic origin has yet to be identified. Here, we show that this peak depends on the configuration of domains of orbital magnetism, which is itself set by the gate-voltage trajectory used to enter the ordered state and by the magnetic field --- particularly the in-plane component --- present during that trajectory. The sensitivity of the effect to in-plane magnetic field components points to spin, linked to valley polarization through spin-orbit coupling, as the key degree of freedom in both the domain formation and the resistance peak.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

Anderson Lattice in Incommensurate $\bf{Nb_3Cl_8}$/Graphene van der Waals Heterostructures

The periodic Anderson model}, traditionally realized in rare-earth compounds with limited tunability, have hindered systematic exploration of correlated quantum phenomena. Here, we introduce a strategy for {realizing and }engineering {this model} in incommensurate van der Waals heterostructures by coupling a Mott insulator (Nb$_3$Cl$_8$) with itinerant electrons (from monolayer graphene), circumventing strict lattice-matching requirements. Through magnetotransport and slave spin mean-field calculations, we demonstrate the hybridization gap ($Δ\approx30$ meV), gate-tunable metal-insulator transition, and band-selective electron effective mass enhancement, hallmarks of Kondo coherence. The heterostructure exhibits a nearly order-of-magnitude enhancement in the effective electron mass between hybridized and conventional graphene-like regimes, alongside in-plane magnetic field-induced metal-insulator transitions. Top gate-temperature phase mapping reveals competing correlated states, including insulating and hidden-order phases. This work establishes an electrically tunable van der Waals platform for studying correlated states generated by coupling a Mott-insulating layer to an itinerant-electron system, providing a materials route for exploring low-dimensional correlated quantum phases.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2026

Activated Migration of Localized Ligand-Field Excitons in Atomically Thin CrCl3

Two-dimensional crystals with densely packed atoms exhibit a range of emerging properties, particularly a wide variety of excitonic behaviors. Thickness-variable layered chromium trihalides with finite surface recombination sites provide an ideal system for understanding how excitons confined in octahedral ligand fields migrate on nanometer length scales, a regime that defies conventional transport probes. In this work, we demonstrate that Cr3+-derived photoluminescence in CrCl3 is spectrally thickness-independent, but its relaxation dynamics are strongly sensitive to thickness and temperature, thereby indicating significant activated migration. A diffusion-coupled surface recombination model reveals an effective out-of-plane diffusivity of 4.5 x 10-6 cm2/s for the ligand-field excitons and a diffusion activation energy of 130 meV. The latter is comparable to the reorganization energy independently estimated from optical Stokes shifts, suggesting that exciton transport is coupled to local lattice relaxation. Furthermore, we show that the relaxation dynamics can be systematically tuned by either enhancing or suppressing surface recombination through controlled surface reactions or encapsulation. This work not only reveals the nanoscopic transport of localized ligand-field excitons but also establishes a spectroscopic transport probe applicable to various 2D materials.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2026

Low-Frequency Charge Noise in Bilayer Graphene Quantum Dots

Bilayer graphene (BLG) quantum dots (QDs) are a promising platform for semiconductor qubits. However, the low-frequency charge noise that may ultimately limit coherence has remained largely unexplored. Here, we systematically characterize charge noise in gate-defined BLG QDs using transport-based noise spectroscopy. We extract a median amplitude of $ S_μ^{1/2} (1~\text{Hz}) = 1.16~μ\text{eV}/\sqrt{\text{Hz}}$, placing BLG well within the range reported for established semiconductor quantum-dot platforms. Across variations in charge occupation, confinement, source-drain bias, and charge-sensor operating conditions, neither the noise amplitude nor the spectral dependence shows a reproducible trend in electrostatic tuning, indicating that we extracted the intrinsic semiconductor noise. Consistent noise levels are further observed in double QDs and confirmed using an independent superconducting resonator-based dispersive readout. Extending the study to BLG devices incorporating transition metal dichalcogenide layers reveals no measurable charge noise increase in weakly proximitized QDs. These results validate BLG as a viable platform for coherent quantum information processing.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

Persistence and emergence of quantum defects through pressure-induced phase changes

Extreme pressures can transform materials and their properties, but probing these in-situ is made challenging by the small sample volumes and access requirements demanded by diamond anvil cells. Quantum defects offer a route to local measurements under such conditions, yet their sensing performance can be dictated by pressure-induced changes in their own host material. On the other hand, pressure may also be harnessed as a tool to engineer and stabilize new quantum defects with emergent functionalities. Here, we demonstrate both aspects within a unified platform based on optically active spin-pair defects in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN). As robust quantum sensors under pressure, these spin-1/2 systems retain pressure-independent spin resonances up to 20 GPa while maintaining or even enhancing their optical emission, in stark contrast to the spin-1 boron-vacancy centre in the same material. Simultaneously, we show that compression acts as a means of quantum defect engineering: the starting hBN undergoes an irreversible transformation into wurtzite boron nitride (wBN), during which the defect landscape is reconfigured. Spin-pair sensors are seen to persist across this structural transition, however, depending on the starting material we also observe new, highly fluorescent defects in the wBN phase. These results establish spin-pair defects in boron nitride as pressure-resilient quantum sensors while highlighting high pressure itself as a versatile pathway for creating and tuning quantum emitters.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

Twist as a Mechanical Switch for Reconfigurable Stacking in h-BN

Twistronics of layered materials has emerged as a highly active field due to its profound implications for quantum electronics and materials engineering. However, the controllable manipulation of interlayer stacking remains a significant experimental challenge. Here, the homogeneous contact between hexagonal boron nitride layers is shown to be reproducibly switched between two distinct stable stacking configurations via an externally applied torque. Combining experiments and computational modelling, we identify the stacking order of these stable states as the commensurate AA and AB modes. These two states are associated with different rotational torque maxima, exhibiting an asymmetry ratio of 0.7, and distinct dynamics as a function of the twist angle. Moreover, the peak torque values scale linearly with contact area, highlighting the dominant role of edge elasticity in the twisting process. Given that the AA and AB stacking modes correspond to different out-of-plane electric polarization states, our findings offer a pathway for reconfigurable nano- and micro-electromechanical devices.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

Antiferromagnetism-altered plasmon dynamics

The interaction between plasmons and magnons is a long-sought phenomenon with implications for fundamental physics and spintronics applications. In three-dimensional systems, this coupling is suppressed by the large mismatch in energy scales, but two-dimensional (2D) plasmons with gapless dispersion can overlap with magnons over a broad spectral range. Despite numerous theoretical predictions, experimental observation of magnon-plasmon interaction has remained elusive. In this work, we study a first-of-its-kind hybrid plasmon-magnon platform based on 2D materials. By deploying scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM) with terahertz radiation, we image propagating plasmon wavepackets at a graphene/NiPS$_3$ interface and track their dynamics across the antiferromagnetic transition of NiPS$_3$. We observe a clear renormalization of the plasmon-polariton dispersion concurrent with the onset of antiferromagnetic order. With complementary Raman scattering and nano-terahertz spectroscopy, we unveil spectral weight redistribution and dielectric screening changes, potentially associated with the multi-magnon continuum, as the underlying mechanism. These results provide solid evidence of coupling between plasmon and antiferromagnetic order, marking a cornerstone for a potential platform for hybrid magnon-plasmon interactions in 2D materials, opening avenues for coherent spin-plasmon devices and tunable terahertz spintronic components.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2026

Direct observation of flat bands in near-magic-angle twisted bilayer CVD graphene

Advances in chemical vapor deposition (CVD) growth have driven graphene crystal quality to unprecedented levels, yet it is still unknown whether this route can realize the fragile flat-band and correlated states of the magic-angle (MA) twisted bilayer graphene (TBG). Here, we report on the experimental observation by room-temperature nano-angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (nano-ARPES) of flat bands in a TBG sample close to the MA, assembled via a grow-and-stack protocol based on low-pressure CVD of graphene on copper. Our study indicates electronic bands fully comparable to those measured in exfoliation-based samples and determines the size of the largest near-MA domain to be compatible with electronic transport experiments, motivating further experiments on flat band physics in CVD-graphene.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

Optical Voltage Profiling of 2D Semiconductors via Proximal Exciton Sensing

High contact resistances in atomically thin semiconductors often mask intrinsic electrical transport properties, particularly at low carrier densities where exotic correlated states emerge. We introduce optical voltage profiling, a noninvasive wide-field technique that replaces local voltage probes with a proximal monolayer MoSe$_2$ exciton sensor. Isolated by thin hexagonal boron nitride, this sensor converts the target's local electrostatic potential into spatially resolved modulations of exciton reflectance. Through pixel-wise in situ calibration, these signals yield quantitative two-dimensional voltage maps of an actively biased semiconductor device. Using this method, we demonstrate the carrier-density-driven metal-insulator transition in bilayer MoSe$_2$ and obtain channel resistances below 1 k$Ω$ despite M$Ω$-scale two-terminal resistances in the metallic region. The optically derived resistance exhibits a metal-insulator crossover near the resistance quantum $h/e^2$, and the voltage maps and reconstructed local conductivity reveal pronounced spatial heterogeneity in both insulating and metallic regimes. Beyond resolving channel resistance under high contact-resistance conditions, the technique provides spatially resolved access to microscopic transport heterogeneity in functional van der Waals devices.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

Probing Nonlinear Interactions of Dipolar Interlayer Excitons in MoSe$_2$/WSe$_2$ Heterobilayers

Interlayer excitons in transition-metal dichalcogenide heterobilayers possess intrinsic out-of-plane dipole moments, providing a platform for investigating exciton-exciton interactions at high densities. Here, we use excitation-energy-dependent photoluminescence excitation (PLE) spectroscopy to probe the nonlinear response of dipolar interlayer excitons in chemical vapor deposition-grown MoSe$_2$/WSe$_2$ heterobilayers. By tuning the excitation energy across intralayer exciton resonances at fixed excitation power, we selectively vary the population injected into the interlayer exciton states. Resonant excitation drives the system into a nonlinear regime, leading to saturation of the interlayer exciton photoluminescence and an apparent broadening of the intralayer $1s$ resonances in the PLE spectra. At the same time, the interlayer exciton emission exhibits a pronounced blueshift, reaching approximately 2.5 meV at 4 K and 1 meV at 75 K. The blueshift increases systematically with the interlayer exciton population and is consistent with a net repulsive exciton-exciton interaction, with contributions from dipole-dipole repulsion in the density regime investigated. Our results establish PLE as a sensitive approach for accessing the nonlinear, high-density regime of interlayer excitons and probing their interactions in van der Waals heterostructures.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

Switchable Magnetoelectric Transport in Graphene via a Van der Waals Multiferroic

Electric and magnetic control of transport properties at atomic interfaces is central to the development of next generation electronics and spintronics. Van der Waals multiferroics materials that simultaneously host dielectric and magnetic orders down to the monolayer limit offer a promising platform for such interfacial control, yet the realization of electronic functionalities that exploit the unique attributes of van der Waals multiferroics has largely remained elusive. Here, we realize a van der Waals heterostructure comprising graphene and the multiferroic CuCrP2S6, enabling gate-switchable magnetoelectric transport in graphene, mediated by the multiferroic layer. The charge-neutrality resistance peak of graphene exhibits pronounced hysteresis arising from polarization flip in the multiferroic state. Application of an in-plane magnetic field shifts this peak in a polarization-dependent manner, revealing magnetic-field-induced polarization modulation a direct signature of the magnetoelectric effect. Furthermore, cooling the device under an applied electric field enables domain control of the multiferroic order, allowing reversible switching of the interfacial magnetoelectric transport. These results provide the first demonstration of interfacial magnetoelectric transport in a vdW heterostructure, and establish a pathway for engineering two-dimensional van der Waals interfaces for functional device applications.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

Chiral superconductors and competing states across a Lifshitz transition in rhombohedral pentalayer graphene

Rhombohedral multilayer graphene hosts a distinctive low-energy electronic structure in which strong Coulomb interactions and nontrivial quantum geometry intertwine to generate exotic quantum states. Recent experiments reported signatures of chiral superconductivity in electron-doped rhombohedral multilayer graphene within the spin- and valley-polarized regime. Here we map the normal-state fermiology surrounding chiral superconductivity in rhombohedral pentalayer graphene. Quantum oscillation measurements reveal an electrically controlled Lifshitz transition between a simply-connected circular quarter-metal Fermi surface and an annular quarter-metal Fermi surface. The Lifshitz boundary itself shifts with perpendicular magnetic field, consistent with the strongly momentum-dependent orbital magnetic moment of the low-energy band. Approaching the transition from either side, the electron effective mass becomes strongly enhanced, implying the formation of a nearly dispersionless band bottom and a strongly reduced kinetic-energy scale. This singular electronic structure produces a regime of exceptionally strong instability in which chiral superconductivity competes with Wigner crystalline phases and reentrant quantum Hall states. In particular, two superconducting regions with signatures of orbital time-reversal-symmetry breaking lie on opposite sides of the Lifshitz boundary and have comparable transition temperatures, yet the annular-side state is suppressed by a substantially smaller perpendicular magnetic field. Our calculation finds comparable chiral pairing tendencies on the two parent Fermi surfaces while producing a much lower orbital-Zeeman pair-breaking scale and an additional finite-momentum pairing tendency for the annular state. These results identify Fermi-surface topology as a key control parameter for chiral superconductivity in rhombohedral graphene.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

Probing spin order via magnon transmission across quantum Hall ferromagnet heterojunctions

Two-dimensional material platforms now host a remarkable array of exotic correlated phases, from unconventional superconductivity to fractional Chern insulators. Probing magnetic order in these systems is essential for understanding their underlying physics, yet dilute spin densities render conventional magnetic probes ineffective. Spin waves, or magnons, in quantum Hall ferromagnets (QHFM) have proven effective for probing the magnetic order in various symmetry-broken quantum Hall (QH) phases in graphene systems, but previous works have been limited to homojunction configurations within a single material. Here, we demonstrate magnon transmission across a monolayer-bilayer graphene quantum Hall ferromagnet heterojunction - the first magnon transmission across quantum Hall ferromagnet heterojunctions, using one material as a magnon source to probe magnetic order in a distinct material. Generating magnons in monolayer graphene (MLG) at $ν$ = 1, we detect their transmission through bilayer graphene (BLG) via nonlocal voltage measurements, revealing spin order in BLG symmetry-broken quantum Hall states. The transmission exhibits hallmark magnon signatures: a sharp onset at the Zeeman energy and systematic variation with Landau level filling, including suppression at $ν$ = 4 and 8 where spin polarization vanishes. Our findings establish heterojunction magnon transmission as a powerful, modular probe of magnetic order, opening new avenues for investigating exotic quantum states across the rapidly expanding family of two-dimensional materials.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

Evidence for Three-component Interlayer Coherent Exciton Condensation

Increasing the number of internal components in a quantum many-body system can host collective orders inaccessible to simpler settings. Quantum Hall bilayers provide a canonical realization of interlayer exciton condensation, yet extending such coherence across three independently addressable electronic fluids has remained elusive. Here we report evidence for three-component interlayer coherent exciton condensation in triple-layer graphene system. Using Rydberg excitons in an adjacent WSe2 monolayer as a layer-sensitive optical probe, we resolve interaction-induced incompressibility at zeroth-Landau-level crossings for all three pairwise layer combinations, establishing top-middle, middle-bottom and top-bottom exciton condensate channels within the same device. Independent control of displacement field and interlayer bias continuously tunes these pairwise states towards a regime where Landau levels from all three layers approach simultaneous degeneracy. At their convergence, incompressibility persists while the exciton energy and spectral weight evolve smoothly between the pairwise limits, suggesting coherent participation of all three layers in a single three-component state. More broadly, the ability to independently control layer potentials and engineer interlayer interactions establishes multilayer graphene as a programmable synthetic dimension for exploring higher-component quantum Hall order and simulating strongly correlated quantum matter.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

Observation of dodecagonal replica bands in 30$^{\circ}$-twisted bilayer WSe$_2$

Twisted bilayers of two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides are promising systems for achieving tunable quasicrystalline orders with emergent properties. The underpinning electronic structure and scattering processes in 2D quasicrystals with multiorbital dodecagonal replica bands have so far not been determined. Here, we utilize angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) with micrometer spatial resolution to directly observe replica bands in 30$^{\circ}$-twisted bilayer WSe$_2$. The symmetry and intensity distribution of the observed replicas are explained by interlayer Umklapp scattering from bottom to top WSe$_2$ layers. Our spectral function measurements are consistent with the presence of a van Hove singularity adjacent to the $\mathrm{K}$-valleys, which underlines the possibility of inducing electronic reconstructions in bilayers with a large interlayer twist angle.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

Trapping $e/4$ quasiparticles in bilayer graphene

Measuring the charge of the quasiparticles hosted by even-denominator fractional quantum Hall (FQH) states is essential to identify the topology of their ground state. Here, we use a gate-defined antidot in bilayer graphene, with an additional gate to control only the antidot potential, to measure the charge of the quasiparticles trapped around it in even-denominator FQH states. We observe a localized charge of $e/4$ at $ν=-5/2$, $-1/2$, and $3/2$, consistent with the minimal excitation expected for leading candidate even-denominator ground states, and $e/3$ at the hole-conjugate state $ν=2/3$. We further show that increasing the coupling between the antidot-bound states and extended edge states drives a crossover between two regimes, characterized by the minimal-excitation gate-voltage period and approximately twice that period, respectively. We discuss two possible explanations for this crossover: quasiparticle bunching and a crossover between distinct antidot transport regimes. Our results, together with previous observations of the daughter states, show that the even-denominator FQH states in bilayer graphene are compatible with a non-Abelian ground state, and that their quasiparticles can be localized around a quantum Hall antidot, a necessary ingredient for topological quantum computation.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

Candidate for a Fractional Topological Insulator in Twisted MoTe2

The interplay among electronic correlation, topology, and time-reversal-symmetry (TRS) often leads to exotic quantum states of matter, as highlighted by the discoveries of fractional Chern insulators (FCIs) in twisted bilayer MoTe2 (tMoTe2). Among the FCIs in tMoTe2, the most robust is at a hole filling factor of v=-2/3 per moiré unit cell. Here, employing pump-probe circular dichroism (CD) measurement on tMoTe2 at twist angles (3.9 and 3.7 degrees), we show that a correlated state at v =-4/3 exhibits an unusual Ising antiferromagnet behavior. The v =-4/3 state with no net magnetization undergoes first order phase transitions at extremely low magnetic fields of ~ 2-6 mT to partially valley polarized (PVP) states. This behavior is notably absent for all other correlated states in tMoTe2 and also disappears for v =-4/3 at higher or lower twist angles (4.0 or 3.3 degree). The observed magnetic signature is consistent with a theoretically proposed fractional topological insulator (FTI), consisting of two copies of v =-2/3 FCIs with opposite chirality in the two K valleys. The experimental results are supported by interacting continuum model calculations that reveal the extreme closeness in energy ( < 1 meV) between the putative FTI and PVP states. Our findings present a candidate FTI with TRS and call for advanced transport and imaging measurements to establish the quantized helical edge modes.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2026

Quantized Transport through a Supermoiré Chern Mosaic

Magic-angle helical trilayer graphene---three graphene layers sequentially twisted in the same direction by $\sim1.8^\circ$---relaxes into a mosaic of domains that, at zero field, carry opposite valley-resolved Chern numbers, with boundaries hosting a network of gapless conducting modes. Charge transport through this network depends sensitively on how the modes connect and scatter, making well-quantized transport unlikely. Contrary to this expectation, we observe a field-induced Chern gap with Chern number $C=-6$ emanating from charge neutrality; in this gap, the Hall resistance is quantized to within $2\%$ of the expected value, $-h/6e^2$, at 4.6 K. We explain this behavior using both Hofstadter and orbital Zeeman calculations, which show that a moderate magnetic field drives a valley-selective topological transition. Above the transition, the total Chern number of the occupied states in each spin-valley flavor becomes identical across neighboring domains, and the domain-wall modes can become gapped. Though the central valence-band Chern numbers still differ between the two domain types, the observed quantized transport attests to a global gap.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗