Work

Non-uniform quantum geometry stabilizes generalized Wigner crystals

Year: 2026

Type: preprint

Abstract: Moiré materials host fractional Chern insulators and electron crystals in close proximity, but the mechanism selecting between them remains an open question. We address this competition in Chern bands with ideal but momentum-dependent quantum geometry -- Aharonov-Casher bands. We present an ansatz wave function for generalized Wigner crystals and, by comparing its energy to that of the competing Laughlin-like state, map out the phase diagram at filling fraction $ν=1/m$ as a function of the degree of geometric non-uniformity. Our work identifies quantum geometry-controlled zero point fluctuations of the charge density of the generalized Wigner crystal as the mechanism controlling its relative stability, implying a kind of quantum Lindemann criterion for the crystal-liquid phase boundary.

Source: arXiv (Cornell University)

DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2609.04149

Authors: Morales-Durán, Nicolás, Wolf, Tobias M. R., Shi, Jingtian, Soejima, Tomohiro, Millis, Andrew J., Cano, Jennifer

Institutions: Flatiron Institute, The University of Texas at Austin, Argonne National Laboratory, Columbia University, Stony Brook University

Topic: Topological Materials and Phenomena

Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Aspen Center for Physics, Flatiron Health, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Precursory Research for Embryonic Science and Technology

Awards: G2595738051, G638484911, Programs on Critical Problems in Physics, Astrophysics and Biophysics at the Aspen Center for Physics

OpenAlex ID: W7208726709

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