Imaging quantum melting in a disordered 2D Wigner solid

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Xiang, Ziyu; Li, Hongyuan; Xiao, Jianghan; Naik, Mit H.; Ge, Zhehao; He, Zehao; Chen, Sudi; Nie, Jiahui; Li, Shiyu; Jiang, Yifan; Sailus, Renee; Banerjee, Rounak; Taniguchi, Takashi; Watanabe, Kenji; Tongay, Sefaattin; Louie, Steven G.; Crommie, Michael F.; Wang, Feng
• 署名单位: University of California System; University of California Berkeley; University of California System; University of California Berkeley; United States Department of Energy (DOE); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; University of California System; University of California Berkeley; United States Department of Energy (DOE); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Arizona State University; Arizona State University-Tempe; National Institute for Materials Science; National Institute for Materials Science
• 刊物名称: SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0036-10711
• DOI: 10.1126/science.ado7136
• 发表日期: 2025-05-15
• 页码: 736-740
• 关键词: transition; insulator; electrons; crystallization; transport; crystals; BEHAVIOR; liquid

摘要

Two-dimensional strongly interacting electrons crystalize into a solid phase known as the Wigner crystal at low densities and form a Fermi liquid at high densities. At intermediate densities, the two-dimensional solid evolves into a strongly correlated liquid phase around a critical density. We observed this quantum melting of a disordered Wigner solid in bilayer molybdenum diselenide (MoSe2) using a noninvasive scanning tunneling microscopy imaging technique. At low densities, the Wigner solid forms nanocrystalline domains pinned by local disorder. It exhibits a quantum densification behavior with increased densities in the solid phase. Above a threshold density, the Wigner solid melts locally and enters a mixed phase in which solid and liquid regions coexist. The liquid regions expand and form a percolation network at even higher densities.