Quantum Electron Quasicrystal
Pierre-Antoine Graham, Filippo Gaggioli, Liang Fu
TLDR
This paper analytically explains how quantum fluctuations and zero-point motion stabilize a 30-degree twisted electronic quasicrystal.
Key contributions
- Developed an analytical framework to explain the origin of the quantum electronic quasicrystal.
- Demonstrated how quantum fluctuations destabilize classical honeycomb states in bilayer Wigner crystals.
- Identified zero-point energy corrections as the key mechanism stabilizing the 30-degree twisted quasicrystal.
Why it matters
This work provides the first analytical explanation for a recently discovered electronic quasicrystal, challenging classical expectations. It highlights how quantum fluctuations and zero-point motion can drive the formation of complex, twisted structures, opening new avenues for understanding spontaneous moiré physics.
Original Abstract
The strongly correlated phases of the homogeneous electron gas constitute the vocabulary of many-body condensed matter physics and find a natural realization in semiconductors. In this setting, recent neural-network variational Monte Carlo calculations discovered an unexpected quantum phase of matter in wide quantum wells: an electronic quasicrystal formed by a bilayer Wigner crystals with a 30-degrees twist. This state defies classical expectations and emerges in a regime dominated by quantum fluctuations. Here, we develop an analytical framework to reveal its origin. By computing zero-point energy corrections to bilayer Wigner crystal configurations, we show that quantum fluctuations qualitatively reshape the energetic landscape, destabilizing the classical honeycomb state and selecting the 30-degrees quasicrystalline ground state over a broad parameter range. Our results identify zero-point motion as the mechanism stabilizing the electronic quasicrystal and establish a route to spontaneous moiré physics driven by many-body quantum effects.
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