Optical Signatures of <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mo>−</mml:mo> <mml:mfrac> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> <mml:mn>3</mml:mn> </mml:mfrac> </mml:math> Fractional Quantum Anomalous Hall State in Twisted <mml:mat
The discovery of fractional charge excitations in new platforms offers crucial insights into strongly correlated quantum phases. While a range of fractional quantum anomalous Hall (FQAH) states have recently been observed in two-dimensional twisted moire systems, the theoretically anticipated filling factor ν=-1/3 FQAH state has remained elusive, with debates centering on its nature of charge density wave or a topological Chern insulator. Here, we report the optical detection of a ν=-1/3 FQAH state in twisted MoTe_{2} bilayers. Using photoluminescence and reflective magnetic circular dichroism techniques, we identify ferromagnetic states at filling factors ν=-1, -2/3, and -1/3, all tunable by a vertical electric field. The corresponding Curie temperatures are approximately 11, 3.5, and 2.4 K, respectively. The -1/3 state emerges over a narrower electric field range and a lower temperature compared to the integer and other fractional states, indicating a fragile nature that may have led to its absence in previous reports. Notably, the photoluminescence spectra at ν=-1/3 disperse as the out-of-plane magnetic field increases, consistent with a nontrivial topological origin. Theoretical calculations based on the exact diagonalization method further support the interpretation of this topologically nontrivial state.
Authors
- Bo Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8726-4890)
- Wei Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5441-0302)
- Liang Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2694-1779)
- Yue Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0098-5359)
- Weibo Gao
- Xiangbin Cai
- Anonymous
- Yan Zhao
- Takashi Taniguchi
- Youwen Liu
- Shunshun Yang
Institutions
- Nanjing Tech University (CN)
- Nanyang Technological University (SG)
- National Institute for Materials Science (JP)
- Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Physical Review Letters
- Published
- 2026-01-09
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1103/f4dj-7sts
- Primary Topic
- Topological Materials and Phenomena
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Research Foundation
- National Research Foundation Singapore
- Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
- Ministry of Education, India
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science