2024/12/29 by Benjamin A. Foutty, Aidan P. Reddy, Foutty, Benjamin A. +11
Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #Magnetic properties of thin films #Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
paper · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2412.20334
openalex publication_date 2024/12/29 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Transition metal dichalcogenide moiré homobilayers have emerged as a platform in which magnetism, strong correlations, and topology are intertwined. In a large magnetic field, the energetic alignment of states with different spin in these systems is dictated by both strong Zeeman splitting and the structure of the Hofstadter's butterfly spectrum, yet the latter has been difficult to probe experimentally. Here we conduct local thermodynamic measurements of twisted WSe2 homobilayers that reveal a cascade of magnetic phase transitions. We understand these transitions as the filling of individual Hofstadter subbands, allowing us to extract the structure and connectivity of the Hofstadter spectrum of a single spin. The onset of magnetic transitions is independent of twist angle, indicating that the exchange interactions of the component layers are only weakly modified by the moiré potential. In contrast, the magnetic transitions are associated with stark changes in the insulating states at commensurate filling. Our work achieves a spin-resolved measurement of Hofstadter's butterfly despite overlapping states, and it disentangles the role of material and moiré effects on the nature of the correlated ground states.