Fractional Topological States in Rhombohedral Multilayer Graphene Modulated by Kagome Superlattice

Fractional quantum anomalous Hall effects realized in twisted bilayer MoTe_{2} and multilayer-graphene-based moiré heterostructures have captured a tremendous growth of interest. In this Letter, we propose that rhombohedral multilayer graphene coupled with an artificial kagome superlattice potential is a new platform to realize various fractional topological phases. Taking Bernal bilayer graphene as the simplest example, when it is placed on top of a prepatterned SiO_{2} substrate with periodic arrays of holes arranged into kagome lattice, the system would be subject to a tunable kagome superlattice potential once an electrostatic voltage drop between the top and bottom gates is applied. Then, we theoretically study the electronic band structures, topological properties, and quantum geometric properties of the Bloch states of Bernal bilayer graphene coupled with a realistic kagome superlattice potential, which is well benchmarked by transport measurements in the weak superlattice-potential regime. We find that the system may exhibit nearly ideal topological flat bands in a substantial region of the parameter space spanned by superlattice constant and electrostatic potential strength. When these topological flat bands are fractionally filled, exact diagonalization calculations suggest that the system would exhibit rich fractional topological phases at 1/3, 2/3, 2/5, 3/5, and 1/2 fillings including both fractional Chern insulators and anomalous composite Fermi liquids under zero magnetic field. We also find that Halperin-type FCI states may emerge from the Chern-number-2 flat bands of trilayer graphene coupled with kagome superlattice potential.

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Publication Details

Journal
Physical Review Letters
Published
2025-11-21
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1103/21vs-prpj
Primary Topic
Topological Materials and Phenomena
Type
article
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article

Fractional Topological States in Rhombohedral Multilayer Graphene Modulated by Kagome Superlattice

Karl J. Friston
Physical Review Letters
Topological Materials and Phenomena
article

Fractional Topological States in Rhombohedral Multilayer Graphene Modulated by Kagome Superlattice

Karl J. Friston
article en

Abstract

Fractional quantum anomalous Hall effects realized in twisted bilayer MoTe_{2} and multilayer-graphene-based moiré heterostructures have captured a tremendous growth of interest. In this Letter, we propose that rhombohedral multilayer graphene coupled with an artificial kagome superlattice potential is a new platform to realize various fractional topological phases. Taking Bernal bilayer graphene as the simplest example, when it is placed on top of a prepatterned SiO_{2} substrate with periodic arrays of holes arranged into kagome lattice, the system would be subject to a tunable kagome superlattice potential once an electrostatic voltage drop between the top and bottom gates is applied. Then, we theoretically study the electronic band structures, topological properties, and quantum geometric properties of the Bloch states of Bernal bilayer graphene coupled with a realistic kagome superlattice potential, which is well benchmarked by transport measurements in the weak superlattice-potential regime. We find that the system may exhibit nearly ideal topological flat bands in a substantial region of the parameter space spanned by superlattice constant and electrostatic potential strength. When these topological flat bands are fractionally filled, exact diagonalization calculations suggest that the system would exhibit rich fractional topological phases at 1/3, 2/3, 2/5, 3/5, and 1/2 fillings including both fractional Chern insulators and anomalous composite Fermi liquids under zero magnetic field. We also find that Halperin-type FCI states may emerge from the Chern-number-2 flat bands of trilayer graphene coupled with kagome superlattice potential.

Physical Review LettersVol. 135(25)
Princeton University (US), ShanghaiTech University (CN), École Normale Supérieure (BI), Flatiron Health (United States) (US), Flatiron Institute (US), Liaoning Academy of Materials
Openalex Percentile: Top 68%
Topological Materials and Phenomena
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Fractional Topological States in Rhombohedral Multilayer Graphene Modulated by Kagome Superlattice — Karl J. Friston · Physical Review Letters (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS