Observation of a Mott quantum spin Hall insulator in twisted WSe2

TL;DR

This study reports the observation of quantum spin Hall edge transport in a magnetic-field-stabilized Mott insulator in twisted WSe2, revealing robust topological edge states in a strongly correlated regime.

Contribution

It demonstrates that spin-conserved QSH edge states can exist in a half-filled, strongly correlated insulating phase under external magnetic fields.

Findings

Nearly quantized resistance insensitive to external fields and temperature below 5 K

Pronounced nonlocal transport and negative in-plane magnetoconductance support helical edge conduction

Observation of QSH edge transport in a Mott insulating state at half filling in twisted WSe2

Abstract

Quantum spin Hall (QSH) insulators and Mott insulators are conventionally regarded as distinct insulating phases, arising from band topology and strong Coulomb interactions, respectively. Here, we report the observation of QSH edge transport in a magnetic-field-stabilized Mott insulating state at half filling of the second moire band in a 2.29 degree twisted WSe2 device. This state exhibits a resistance plateau identical to that of the single-particle QSH state at full filling of the first moire valence band, indicating the same number of helical edge channels. Electrical transport measurements reveal nearly quantized resistance that is insensitive to vertical electric field, out-of-plane magnetic field, and temperature below 5 K. Pronounced nonlocal transport and strong negative in-plane magnetoconductance further support helical edge conduction, establishing robust edge transport in the strongly correlated regime. Temperature-dependent Hall measurements reveal a characteristic temperature scale of approximately 10 K, corresponding to an energy scale of about 1 meV. Our results demonstrate that spin-conserved QSH edge states can persist in a half filled, strongly correlated insulating phase and under external magnetic field, opening a route toward interaction-resilient topological transport in moire quantum materials.