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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2026
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.09820 |
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| _version_ | 1866908954254114816 |
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| author | Feng, Jiechao Han, Zhaoyu Zaletel, Michael P. Dong, Zhihuan |
| author_facet | Feng, Jiechao Han, Zhaoyu Zaletel, Michael P. Dong, Zhihuan |
| contents | Recent experiments in rhombohedral graphene find evidence for a "self-doped" Wigner crystal (SDC) in which a slightly incommensurate Wigner crystal (WC) coexists with a small Fermi sea. We provide non-perturbative arguments that such SDCs generically arise from preempted band-inversion transitions between commensurate crystals, which motivates simple band-theory criteria for their appearance. Self-consistent Hartree-Fock calculations establish the existence of a SDC consistent with this mechanism in both the $λ$-jellium model and rhombohedral pentalayer graphene (R5G). In the $λ$-jellium model, we identify a SDC phase located between a "halo"-WC and an anomalous Hall crystal (AHC), which would otherwise be connected via a Dirac transition when pinned to commensuration; this contrasts with the WC-AHC transition, which we show cannot be connected by a continuous transition due to a mismatch of symmetry indices. In R5G, we predict a SDC phase located between a WC and a "disqualified" halo anomalous Hall crystal. We discuss in general how the Berry curvature distribution in the parent band affects the appearance of SDC, revealing a novel role of quantum geometry in inducing exotic quantum phases of matter. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_09820 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Self-doped Crystal from Preempted Band-inversion Transitions Feng, Jiechao Han, Zhaoyu Zaletel, Michael P. Dong, Zhihuan Strongly Correlated Electrons Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics Recent experiments in rhombohedral graphene find evidence for a "self-doped" Wigner crystal (SDC) in which a slightly incommensurate Wigner crystal (WC) coexists with a small Fermi sea. We provide non-perturbative arguments that such SDCs generically arise from preempted band-inversion transitions between commensurate crystals, which motivates simple band-theory criteria for their appearance. Self-consistent Hartree-Fock calculations establish the existence of a SDC consistent with this mechanism in both the $λ$-jellium model and rhombohedral pentalayer graphene (R5G). In the $λ$-jellium model, we identify a SDC phase located between a "halo"-WC and an anomalous Hall crystal (AHC), which would otherwise be connected via a Dirac transition when pinned to commensuration; this contrasts with the WC-AHC transition, which we show cannot be connected by a continuous transition due to a mismatch of symmetry indices. In R5G, we predict a SDC phase located between a WC and a "disqualified" halo anomalous Hall crystal. We discuss in general how the Berry curvature distribution in the parent band affects the appearance of SDC, revealing a novel role of quantum geometry in inducing exotic quantum phases of matter. |
| title | Self-doped Crystal from Preempted Band-inversion Transitions |
| topic | Strongly Correlated Electrons Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.09820 |