Spin-orbital magnetism in moir\'e Wigner molecules
Abstract
The interplay of spin and orbital degrees of freedom offers a versatile playground for the realization of a variety of correlated phases of matter. However, the types of spin-orbital interactions are often limited and challenging to tune. Here, we propose and analyze a new platform for spin-orbital interactions based upon a lattice of Wigner molecules in moir\'e transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). Leveraging the spin-orbital degeneracy of the low-energy Hilbert space of each Wigner molecule, we demonstrate that TMD materials can host a general spin-orbital Hamiltonian that is tunable via the moir\'e superlattice spacing and dielectric environments. We study the phase diagram for this model, revealing a rich landscape of phases driven by spin-orbital interactions, ranging from ferri-electric valence bond solids to a helical spin liquid. Our work establishes moir\'e Wigner molecules in TMD materials as a prominent platform for correlated spin-orbital phenomena.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2507.06307,
title = {Spin-orbital magnetism in moir\'e Wigner molecules},
author = {Ahmed Khalifa and Rokas Veitas and Francisco Machado and Shubhayu Chatterjee},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2507.06307},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
v3: 12+24 pages, 5+8 figures. Submission to SciPost Physics. v2: 7+15 pages, 5+7 figures. Added further data and analysis to main text and supplemental material. v1: 6+15 pages, 4+5 figures