Yushen Zhou | Searcharxiv

arXiv2026

Excitons probe intrinsic flat band Mottness in a van der Waals heterostructure

Excitons provide a sensitive optical probe of electronic correlations in nearby two-dimensional materials, yet their coupling to intrinsic flat-band Mott systems remains largely unexplored. Here we combine gate-tunable optical spectroscopy with first-principles calculations to study monolayer WSe$_2$ in direct contact with the van der Waals Mott insulator Nb$_3$Cl$_8$. The gate evolution of WSe$_2$ excitonic resonances reveals signatures of a correlation-reconstructed Mott gap in Nb$_3$Cl$_8$ that is absent from the single-particle band picture. In the electron-doped regime, the WSe$_2$ 2s Rydberg exciton undergoes a multistage evolution and develops into interlayer attractive and repulsive polaron branches, showing that a Rydberg exciton can be dressed by strongly correlated flat-band electrons in an adjacent Mott layer. Under an out-of-plane magnetic field, spin-polarized Nb$_3$Cl$_8$ states further induce valley-selective exciton coupling, producing a strongly enhanced circular polarization of the WSe$_2$ exciton emission. These results extend exciton-based sensing and exciton-polaron physics to intrinsic flat-band Mott materials, providing an optical route to probe and engineer correlation-driven interfacial quasiparticles.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2026

Layer-parity-defined surface polarization in Nb$_3$Cl$_8$ for excitonic modulation at van der Waals interfaces

The intrinsic symmetry breaking in the breathing kagome lattice of layered Nb$_3$Cl$_8$ provides a unique mechanism for realizing electrically polar surfaces. In each monolayer, the trimerization of Nb atoms breaks inversion and mirror symmetries, generating an out-of-plane electric dipole. The AB-stacked $\alpha$ phase arranges adjacent layer dipoles antiferroelectrically, leaving the uncompensated surface polarization strictly governed by layer parity. Here, using atomic force microscopy operated in Kelvin probe force microscopy mode, we directly visualize layer-dependent polarization states in exfoliated Nb$_3$Cl$_8$ flakes and resolve a pronounced odd-even oscillation of the surface electrostatic potential. Beyond this parity-locked antiferroelectric order, we further identify intralayer polar domains in which local atomic reconstructions of the breathing kagome network reverse the out-of-plane dipole of the surface layer, producing ferroelectric-like stacking configurations. By interfacing monolayer MoSe$_2$ with Nb$_3$Cl$_8$, we demonstrate that these surface-polarization textures effectively modulate adjacent excitonic emission through domain-dependent interfacial band alignment and charge transfer. Our findings establish Nb$_3$Cl$_8$ as an intrinsic layer-polarized van der Waals platform and show that layer parity provides powerful structural degree of freedom for programming excitonic and optoelectronic responses at van der Waals interfaces.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗