In the 1980s, the discovery of electron states that fractionalize in the presence of a time-reversal symmetry breaking magnetic field opened up new directions in condensed matter physics. In 2023, evidence has accumulated that a version of these states in which the time-reversal symmetry breaking is spontaneous appears in moiré materials.
Key advances
-
Experimentalists have developed and refined techniques for flexible stacking of atomic scale 2D materials isolated from van der Waals layer compounds.
-
Theorists have improved understanding of how ideal quantum geometry can lead to electronic correlations in the Bloch bands of a two-dimensional crystal that are similar to those favoured by strong magnetic fields.
-
Twisted bilayer MoTe2 and graphene multilayer moiré materials, identified theoretically as attractive targets, have now been definitively established as fractional quantum anomalous Hall state hosts.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$29.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 digital issues and online access to articles
$99.00 per year
only $8.25 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Cai, J. et al. Signatures of fractional quantum anomalous Hall states in twisted MoTe2. Nature 622, 63–68 (2023).
Zeng, Y. et al. Thermodynamic evidence of fractional Chern insulator in moiré MoTe2. Nature 622, 69–73 (2023).
Park, H. et al. Observation of fractionally quantized anomalous Hall effect. Nature 622, 74–79 (2023).
Xu, F. et al. Observation of integer and fractional quantum anomalous Hall effects in twisted bilayer MoTe2. Phys. Rev. X 13, 031037 (2023).
Lu, Z. et al. Fractional quantum anomalous Hall effect in multilayer graphene. Nature 626, 759–764 (2024).
Haldane, F. D. M. Model for a quantum Hall effect without Landau levels: condensed matter realization of the “parity anomaly”. Phys. Rev. Lett. 61, 2015–2018 (1988).
Roy, R. Band geometry of fractional topological insulators. Phys. Rev. B 90, 165139 (2014).
Liu, Z. & Bergholtz, E. J. in Encyclopedia of Condensed Matter Physics 2nd edn, Vol. 1 (ed. Chakraborty, T.) 515–538 (Academic Press, 2024).
Andrei, E. Y. et al. The marvels of moiré materials. Nat. Rev. Mater. 6, 201–206 (2021).
Wu, F., Lovorn, T., Tutuc, E., Martin, I. & MacDonald, A. Topological insulators in twisted transition metal dichalcogenide homobilayers. Phys. Rev. Lett. 122, 086402 (2019).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Morales-Durán, N., Shi, J. & MacDonald, A.H. Fractionalized electrons in moiré materials. Nat Rev Phys (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42254-024-00718-z
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42254-024-00718-z
