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Visualizing broken symmetry and topological defects in a quantum Hall ferromagnet

Cornell Affiliated Author(s)

Author

Xiaomeng Liu
Gelareh Farahi
Cheng-Li Chiu
Zlatko Papic
Kenji Watanabe
Takashi Taniguchi
Michael Zaletel
Ali Yazdani

Abstract

The interaction between electrons in graphene under high magnetic fields drives the formation of a rich set of quantum Hall ferromagnetic (QHFM) phases with broken spin or valley symmetry. Visualizing atomic-scale electronic wave functions with scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS), we resolved microscopic signatures of valley ordering in QHFM phases and spectral features of fractional quantum Hall phases of graphene. At charge neutrality, we observed a field-tuned continuous quantum phase transition from a valley-polarized state to an intervalley coherent state, with a Kekulé distortion of its electronic density. Mapping the valley texture extracted from STS measurements of the Kekulé phase, we could visualize valley skyrmion excitations localized near charged defects. Our techniques can be applied to examine valley-ordered phases and their topological excitations in a wide range of materials.

Date Published

Journal

Science

Volume

375

Issue

6578

Number of Pages

321-326

ISSN Number

0036-8075, 1095-9203

URL

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abm3770

DOI

10.1126/science.abm3770

Group (Lab)

Xiaomeng Liu Group

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