Staggered Pseudo Magnetic Field in Twisted Transition Metal Dichalcogenides: Physical Origin and Experimental Consequences

The emergent low energy electronic theory of moire materials often includes a `pseudo-magnetic field' arising from the interplay between inter-plane hybridization and moire twist angle. In twisted homobilayer WSe2, the low energy electronic theory is the triangular lattice `moire Hubbard model', which features a spatially dependent pseudo-magnetic field of strength tunable from zero to a large value by varying the interlayer potential difference (displacement field). The pseudo-field produces a staggered flux which is opposite in sign in adjacent plaquettes of the triangular lattice and opposite in sign for the two spin directions. In this talk we show that the pseudo-field has observable consequences, including displacement field tunable Hall sign changes, a different form of the Hofstadter butterfly and spin currents at sample edges and interfaces. Moving beyond homobilayer WSe2 we consider generic consequences of the pseudo-magnetic field, showing how in certain limits it constrains the form of the wave function and the structure of inter-particle interactions.