Remote Moir\'e Modulation of Decoupled Dirac Subsystems in Twisted Trilayer Graphene

TL;DR

This study reveals that moiré potentials can influence spatially separated Dirac subsystems in twisted trilayer graphene through electrostatic coupling, even without strong interlayer tunneling or explicit structural moiré.

Contribution

It demonstrates that moiré effects are not limited to structural interfaces but can extend via electrostatic interactions in decoupled Dirac systems.

Findings

Satellite-like features in electronic response locked to hBN/graphene moiré density

Moiré potential influences a separated Dirac subsystem without tunneling

Electrostatic coupling enables moiré effects beyond structural interfaces

Abstract

Moir\'e superlattices are generally assumed to act only at the interface where lattice mismatch or twist occurs. Here, we study charge transport in large-angle helical twisted trilayer graphene, where interlayer tunneling is strongly reduced. When only the top monolayer graphene is aligned with hBN, the electronic response reorganizes into a moir\'e-modulated monolayer and a remaining twisted bilayer graphene subsystem. Despite the absence of any explicit structural moir\'e in the twisted bilayer, we observe satellite-like features in its electronic response that run parallel to the primary spectrum and are locked to the density scale of the hBN/graphene moir\'e. These findings indicate that a moir\'e potential may not be confined to its structural interface and can, through electrostatic coupling, influence a spatially separated Dirac subsystem even in the absence of strong interlayer tunneling.