arXiv subjects

Patrick Knüppel

Publications and source records attributed to Patrick Knüppel.

14 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Trion Hall effect in electron-hole double layers

The realization of Coulomb coupled electron-hole double layers in 2D semiconductor heterostructures has enabled the thermodynamic and transport studies of equilibrium exciton fluids without a magnetic field. By doping the exciton fluid with additional electrons/holes, an equilibrium fluid of trions - three particle bound states of electrons and holes - further emerge, providing the platform to explore new transport phenomena associated with such composite particles. Here we report the observation of a Hall effect for trions in MoSe2/WSe2 heterobilayers, which support Coulomb-coupled electron and hole fluids with tunable densities. The Hall effect arises from a Lorentz force on trions under a perpendicular magnetic field. It is manifested in both Hall drag measurements and standard Hall effect measurements on just one of the semiconductor layers. For negatively charged trions, an electron Hall effect is observed even in a hole doped WSe2 monolayer due to the presence of trion drags. The trion Hall effect also disappears when the trions are ionized at elevated temperatures and/or high trion densities. Our work opens the door for realizing quantum oscillations and the quantum Hall effect for trions.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

Quantum correlations and dissipative blockade of polaritons in a tunable fiber cavity

Cavity exciton--polaritons are quasiparticles that form when quantum well excitons hybridize with a cavity mode. Here, we carry out photon correlation measurements under continuous wave resonant laser excitation to demonstrate quantum correlations between cavity--polaritons. Our experiments reveal an unexpectedly strong dependence of polariton interactions on cavity--exciton detuning. When the polaritons are predominantly exciton-like, we observe a transition from photon antibunching to bunching as the laser is tuned across the polariton resonance, in agreement with a simple Kerr-nonlinearity model. When the lower-branch polariton energy is tuned to induce a two-polariton Feshbach resonance with the biexciton mode, the degree of polariton antibunching becomes independent of the laser detuning: we explain our finding by invoking a dissipative blockade mechanism arising from large biexciton broadening. Our experiments demonstrate that the strong polariton blockade regime would be achieved by reducing the polariton decay rate by a factor of 10.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2025

Simulating high-temperature superconductivity in moir\'e WSe2

The emergence of high transition temperature (Tc) superconductivity in strongly correlated materials remains a major unsolved problem in physics. High-Tc materials, such as cuprates, are generally complex and not easily tunable, making theoretical modelling difficult. Although the Hubbard model--a simple theoretical model of interacting electrons on a lattice--is believed to capture the essential physics of high-Tc materials, obtaining accurate solutions of the model, especially in the relevant regime of moderate correlation, is challenging. The recent demonstration of robust superconductivity in moir\'e WSe2, whose low-energy electronic bands can be described by the Hubbard model and are highly tunable, presents a new platform for tackling the high-Tc problem. Here, we tune moir\'e WSe2 bilayers to the moderate correlation regime through the twist angle and map the phase diagram around one hole per moir\'e unit cell (v = 1) by electrostatic gating and electrical transport and magneto-optical measurements. We observe a range of high-Tc phenomenology, including an antiferromagnetic insulator at v = 1, superconducting domes upon electron and hole doping, and unusual metallic states at elevated temperatures including strange metallicity. The highest Tc occurs adjacent to the Mott transition, reaching about 6% of the effective Fermi temperature. Our results establish a new material system based on transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) moir\'e superlattices that can be used to study high-Tc superconductivity in a highly controllable manner and beyond.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2025

Emergence of Chern metal in a moir\'e Kondo lattice

A Chern metal is a two-dimensional metallic state of matter carrying chiral edge states. It can emerge as a doped Chern insulator, but theoretical studies have also predicted its emergence near a Kondo breakdown separating a metallic chiral spin liquid and a heavy Fermi liquid in a frustrated lattice. To date, the latter exotic scenario has not been realized. Here, we report the observation of a Chern metal at the onset of the magnetic Kondo breakdown in a frustrated moir\'e Kondo lattice--angle-aligned MoTe2/WSe2 bilayers. The state is compressible and is manifested by a nearly quantized Hall resistance but a finite longitudinal resistance that arises from a bad metallic bulk. The state also separates an itinerant and a heavy Fermi liquid and appears far away from the band inversion critical point of the material, thus ruling out its origin from simply doping a Chern insulator. We demonstrate the presence of a chiral edge state by nonlocal transport measurements and current-induced quantum anomalous Hall breakdown. Magnetic circular dichroism measurements further reveal a magnetization plateau for the Chern metal before a metamagnetic transition at the Kondo breakdown. Our results open an opportunity for moir\'e engineering of exotic quantum phases of matter through the close interplay between band topology and Kondo interactions.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2025

Bright hybrid excitons in molecularly tunable bilayer crystals

Bilayer crystals, built by stacking crystalline monolayers, generate interlayer potentials that govern excitonic phenomena but are constrained by fixed covalent lattices and orientations. Replacing one layer with an atomically thin molecular crystal overcomes this limitation, as diverse functional groups enable tunable molecular lattices and interlayer potentials, tailoring a wide range of excitonic properties. Here, we report hybrid excitons in four-atom-thick hybrid bilayer crystals (HBCs), directly synthesized with single-crystalline perylene diimide (PDI) molecular crystal atop WS2 monolayers. These excitons arise from a hybridized bilayer band structure, revealed by lattice-scale first-principles calculations, inheriting properties from both monolayers. They exhibit bright photoluminescence with near-unity polarization above and below the WS2 bandgap, along with spectral signatures of exciton delocalization, supported by theory, while their energies and intensities are tuned by modifying the HBC composition by synthesis. Our work introduces a molecule-based 2D quantum materials platform for bottom-up design and control of optoelectronic properties.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Molecular tuning of excitons in four-atom-thick hybrid bilayer crystals

Bilayer crystals, formed by stacking monolayers of two-dimensional (2D) crystals, create interlayer potentials that govern excitonic phenomena but are constrained by their fixed covalent lattices. Replacing one layer with an atomically thin molecular crystal overcomes this limitation, as precise control of functional groups enables tunable 2D molecular lattices and, consequently, electronic structures. Here, we report molecular tuning of lattices and excitons in four-atom-thick hybrid bilayer crystals (HBCs), synthesized as monolayers of perylene-based molecular and transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) single crystals. In HBCs, we observe an anisotropic photoluminescence signal exhibiting characteristics of both molecular and TMD excitons, directly tuned by molecular geometry and HBC composition. Ab initio calculations reveal that this anisotropic emission arises from hybrid excitons, which inherit properties from both layers through a hybridized bilayer band structure. Our work establishes a synthetically derived, molecule-based 2D quantum materials platform with the potential for engineering interlayer potentials.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Correlated states controlled by tunable van Hove singularity in moiré WSe2

Twisted bilayers of transition metal dichalcogenide semiconductors have enabled the discovery of superconductivity, ferromagnetism, correlated insulators and a series of new topological phases of matter. However, the connection between these electronic phases and the underlying band structure singularities in these materials has remained largely unexplored. Here, combining the magnetic circular dichroism and electronic compressibility measurements, we investigate the influence of a van Hove singularity on the correlated phases in bilayer WSe2 with twist angle between 2-3 degrees. We demonstrate stabilizing the Stoner ferromagnetism below moiré lattice filling one and Chern insulators at filling one by tuning the van Hove singularity cross the Fermi level using the electric and magnetic fields. The experimental observations are supported by the continuum model band structure calculations. Our results highlight the prospect of engineering the electronic phases by tunable van Hove singularities.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2023

Emergence of ferromagnetism at the onset of moiré Kondo breakdown

The interaction of a lattice of localized magnetic moments with a sea of conduction electrons in Kondo lattice models induces rich quantum phases of matter, such as Fermi liquids with heavily renormalized electronic quasiparticles, quantum critical non-Fermi liquid metals and unconventional superconductors, among others. The recent demonstration of moiré Kondo lattices has opened the door to investigate the Kondo problem with continuously tunable parameters. Although a heavy Fermi liquid phase has been identified in moiré Kondo lattices, the magnetic phases and Kondo breakdown transitions remain unexplored. Here we report a density-tuned Kondo destruction in AB-stacked MoTe2/WSe2 moiré bilayers by combining magneto transport and optical studies. As the itinerant carrier density decreases, the Kondo temperature decreases. At a critical density, we observe a heavy Fermi liquid to insulator transition, and a nearly concomitant emergence of ferromagnetic order. The observation is consistent with the scenario of a ferromagnetic Anderson insulator and suppression of the Kondo screening effect. Our results pave the path for inducing other exotic quantum phase transitions in moiré Kondo lattices.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2023

Observation of spin polarons in a frustrated moiré Hubbard system

The electron's kinetic energy plays a pivotal role in magnetism. While virtual electron hopping promotes antiferromagnetism in an insulator, the real process usually favors ferromagnetism. But in kinetically frustrated systems, such as hole doped triangular lattice Mott insulators, real hopping has been shown to favor antiferromagnetism. Kinetic frustration has also been predicted to induce a new quasiparticle -- a bound state of the doped hole and a spin flip called a spin polaron -- at intermediate magnetic fields, which could form an unusual metallic state. However, the direct experimental observation of spin polarons has remained elusive. Here we report the observation of spin polarons in triangular lattice MoTe2/WSe2 moiré bilayers by the reflective magnetic circular dichroism measurements. We identify a spin polaron phase at lattice filling factor between 0.8-1 and magnetic field between 2-4 T; it is separated from the fully spin polarized phase by a metamagnetic transition. We determine that the spin polaron is a spin-3/2 particle and its binding energy is commensurate to the kinetic hopping energy. Our results open the door for exploring spin polaron pseudogap metals, spin polaron pairing and other new phenomena in triangular lattice moiré materials.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2023

Integer and fractional Chern insulators in twisted bilayer MoTe2

Chern insulators, which are the lattice analogs of the quantum Hall states, can potentially manifest high-temperature topological orders at zero magnetic field to enable next-generation topological quantum devices. To date, integer Chern insulators have been experimentally demonstrated in several systems at zero magnetic field, but fractional Chern insulators have been reported only in graphene-based systems under a finite magnetic field. The emergence of semiconductor moiré materials, which support tunable topological flat bands, opens a new opportunity to realize fractional Chern insulators. Here, we report the observation of both integer and fractional Chern insulators at zero magnetic field in small-angle twisted bilayer MoTe2 by combining the local electronic compressibility and magneto-optical measurements. At hole filling factor ν=1 and 2/3, the system is incompressible and spontaneously breaks time reversal symmetry. We determine the Chern number to be 1 and 2/3 for the ν=1 and ν=2/3 gaps, respectively, from their dispersion in filling factor with applied magnetic field using the Streda formula. We further demonstrate electric-field-tuned topological phase transitions involving the Chern insulators. Our findings pave the way for demonstration of quantized fractional Hall conductance and anyonic excitation and braiding in semiconductor moiré materials.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Accelerating Polaritons with External Electric and Magnetic Fields

It is widely assumed that photons cannot be manipulated using electric or magnetic fields. Even though hybridization of photons with electronic polarization to form exciton-polaritons has paved the way to a number of ground-breaking experiments in semiconductor microcavities, the neutral bosonic nature of these quasiparticles has severely limited their response to external gauge fields. Here, we demonstrate polariton acceleration by external electric and magnetic fields in the presence of nonperturbative coupling between polaritons and itinerant electrons, leading to formation of new quasiparticles termed polaron-polaritons. We identify the generation of electron density gradients by the applied fields to be primarily responsible for inducing a gradient in polariton energy, which in turn leads to acceleration along a direction determined by the applied fields. Remarkably, we also observe that different polarization components of the polaritons can be accelerated in opposite directions when the electrons are in $ν= 1$ integer quantum Hall state.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Nonlinear optics in the fractional quantum Hall regime

Engineering strong interactions between optical photons is a great challenge for quantum science. Envisioned applications range from the realization of photonic gates for quantum information processing to synthesis of photonic quantum materials for investigation of strongly-correlated driven-dissipative systems. Polaritonics, based on the strong coupling of photons to atomic or electronic excitations in an optical resonator, has emerged as a promising approach to implement those tasks. Recent experiments demonstrated the onset of quantum correlations in the exciton-polariton system, showing that strong polariton blockade could be achieved if interactions were an order of magnitude stronger. Here, we report time resolved four-wave mixing experiments on a two-dimensional electron system embedded in an optical cavity, demonstrating that polariton-polariton interactions are strongly enhanced when the electrons are initially in a fractional quantum Hall state. Our experiments indicate that in addition to strong correlations in the electronic ground state, exciton-electron interactions leading to the formation of polaron polaritons play a key role in enhancing the nonlinear optical response. Besides potential applications in realization of strongly interacting photonic systems, our findings suggest that nonlinear optical measurements could provide information about fractional quantum Hall states that is not accessible in linear optical response.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

Polaron-Polaritons in the Integer and Fractional Quantum Hall Regimes

Elementary quasi-particles in a two dimensional electron system can be described as exciton-polarons since electron-exciton interactions ensures dressing of excitons by Fermi-sea electron-hole pair excitations. A relevant open question is the modification of this description when the electrons occupy flat-bands and electron-electron interactions become prominent. Here, we perform cavity spectroscopy of a two dimensional electron system in the strong-coupling regime where polariton resonances carry signatures of strongly correlated quantum Hall phases. By measuring the evolution of the polariton splitting under an external magnetic field, we demonstrate the modification of electron-exciton interactions that we associate with phase space filling at integer filling factors and polaron dressing at fractional filling factors. The observed non-linear behavior shows great promise for enhancing polariton-polariton interactions.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

Quantum interface between photonic and superconducting qubits

We show that optically active coupled quantum dots embedded in a superconducting microwave cavity can be used to realize a fast quantum interface between photonic and transmon qubits. Single photon absorption by a coupled quantum dot results in generation of a large electric dipole, which in turn ensures efficient coupling to the microwave cavity. Using cavity parameters achieved in prior experiments, we estimate that bi-directional microwave-optics conversion in nanosecond timescales with efficiencies approaching unity is experimentally feasible with current technology. We also outline a protocol for in-principle deterministic quantum state transfer from a time-bin photonic qubit to a transmon qubit. Recent advances in quantum dot based quantum photonics technologies indicate that the scheme we propose could play a central role in connecting quantum nodes incorporating cavity-coupled superconducting qubits.

quant-ph↗