Spin-orbital magnetism in moiré Wigner molecules
Ahmed Khalifa (Carnegie Mellon University)
Rokas Veitas (Carnegie Mellon University)
Francisco Machado (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Harvard University, TU Delft - QID/Machado Group)
Shubhayu Chatterjee (Carnegie Mellon University)
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Abstract
The interplay of spin and orbital degrees of freedom offers a versatile playground for the realization of a variety of correlated phases of matter. However, the types of spin-orbital interactions are often limited and challenging to tune. Here, we propose and analyze a new platform for spin-orbital interactions based upon a lattice of Wigner molecules in moiré transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). Leveraging the spin-orbital degener-acy of the low-energy Hilbert space of each Wigner molecule, we demonstrate that TMD materials can host a general spin-orbital Hamiltonian that is tunable via the moiré super-lattice spacing and dielectric environments. We study the phase diagram for this model, revealing a rich landscape of phases driven by spin-orbital interactions, ranging from ferri-electric valence bond solids to a helical spin liquid. Our work establishes moiré Wigner molecules in TMD materials as a prominent platform for correlated spin-orbital phenomena.
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