Moire nematic phase in twisted double bilayer graphene

Graphene moire superlattices display electronic flat bands. At integer fillings of these flat bands, energy gaps due to strong electron-electron interactions are generally observed. However, the presence of other correlation-driven phases in twisted graphitic systems at non-integer fillings is unclear. Here, we report the existence of three-fold rotational (C-3) symmetry breaking in twisted double bilayer graphene. Using spectroscopic imaging over large and uniform areas to characterize the direction and degree of C-3 symmetry breaking, we find it to be prominent only at energies corresponding to the flat bands and nearly absent in the remote bands. We demonstrate that the magnitude of the rotational symmetry breaking does not depend on the degree of the heterostrain or the displacement field, being instead a manifestation of an interaction-driven electronic nematic phase. We show that the nematic phase is a primary order that arises from the normal metal state over a wide range of doping away from charge neutrality. Our modelling suggests that the nematic instability is not associated with the local scale of the graphene lattice, but is an emergent phenomenon at the scale of the moire lattice. Observations of an electronic nematic phase in twisted double bilayer graphene expand the number of moire materials where this interaction-driven state exists.

Automated summary

A study on twisted double bilayer graphene reveals the presence of three-fold rotational symmetry breaking, indicative of an interaction-driven electronic nematic phase that emerges from the normal metal state and is related to the scale of the moire lattice.