Quantum oscillations in field-induced correlated insulators of a moir\'e superlattice

TL;DR

This study reports the observation of quantum oscillations in correlated insulators of twisted double bilayer graphene, revealing D-dependent Fermi surface changes and band inversion effects, suggesting a link between correlation, topology, and quantum oscillations.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed experimental evidence of quantum oscillations in correlated insulators of TDBG and interprets these findings through a band inversion model.

Findings

Quantum oscillations observed in TDBG insulators at v = -2 and v = 2.

Oscillation amplitude up to 150 kΩ and survival up to ~10 K.

Carrier density and effective mass depend on displacement field D.

Abstract

We report an observation of quantum oscillations (QOs) in the correlated insulators with valley anisotropy of twisted double bilayer graphene (TDBG). The anomalous QOs are best captured in the magneto resistivity oscillations of the insulators at v = -2, with a period of 1/B and an oscillation amplitude as high as 150 k{\Omega}. The QOs can survive up to ~10 K, and above 12 K, the insulating behaviors are dominant. The QOs of the insulator are strongly D dependent: the carrier density extracted from the 1/B periodicity decreases almost linearly with D from -0.7 to -1.1 V/nm, suggesting a reduced Fermi surface; the effective mass from Lifshitz-Kosevich analysis depends nonlinearly on D, reaching a minimal value of 0.1 me at D = ~ -1.0 V/nm. Similar observations of QOs are also found at v = 2, as well as in other devices without graphite gate. We interpret the D sensitive QOs of the correlated insulators in the picture of band inversion. By reconstructing an inverted band model with the measured effective mass and Fermi surface, the density of state at the gap, calculated from thermal broadened Landau levels, agrees qualitatively with the observed QOs in the insulators. While more theoretical understandings are needed in the future to fully account for the anomalous QOs in this moir\'e system, our study suggests that TDBG is an excellent platform to discover exotic phases where correlation and topology are at play.