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Competing Orbital Magnetism and Superconductivity in In-Situ Josephson Junctions of Alternating Twisted Trilayer Graphene

ORAL

Abstract

The coexistence of superconductivity and magnetism within a single platform has been a long-standing goal in condensed matter physics. Van der Waals-based moiré superlattices offer a unique avenue for realizing broken symmetry states within a single device. In alternating twisted trilayer graphene (TTG), robust superconductivity—tunable by displacement field—emerges at the magic angle (1.57°) and reappears at 1.3° but is suppressed at intermediate twist angles. In this study, we explore the intermediate angle regime around 1.40°, where superconductivity is suppressed, and report evidence of orbital magnetism. Unlike superconductivity, which is strong at higher moiré fillings, orbital magnetism is most prominent near the charge neutrality point (CNP), diminishing at larger fillings. Similarly, higher displacement fields favor superconductivity, whereas lower fields enhance orbital magnetism. These complementary trends suggest a competitive relationship between the two states. Using gate-defined Josephson junctions we detected orbital magnetism via an asymmetric Fraunhofer pattern, with an ordering temperature around 650 mK—below the superconducting transition temperature (~1.3K). This lower energy scale implies that the orbital magnetism observed here, likely driven by valley polarization, differs from the anomalous Hall effect seen at integer fillings in twisted graphene systems.

Presenters

  • Vishal Bhardwaj

    Weizmann Institute of Science

Authors

  • Vishal Bhardwaj

    Weizmann Institute of Science

  • Lekshmi Rajagopal

    Weizmann Institute of Science

  • Lorenzo Arici

    Weizmann institute of Science

  • Matan Bocarsly

    Weizmann Institute

  • Alexey Ilin

    Weizmann Institute of Science

  • Gal Shavit

    Caltech

  • Kenji Watanabe

    National Institute for Materials Science, NIMS, Research Center for Functional Materials, National Institute for Materials Science, Research Center for Electronic and Optical Materials, National Institute for Materials Science, 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba 305-0044, Japan, Research Center for Functional Materials, National Institute of Material Science, Tsukuba, Japan, National Institute of Materials Science, Advanced Materials Laboratory, National Institute for Materials Science

  • Takashi Taniguchi

    National Institute for Materials Science, International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics, National Institute for Materials Science, Research Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics, National Institute for Materials Science, 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba 305-0044, Japan, International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics, National Institute of Material Science, Tsukuba, Japan, Advanced Materials Laboratory, National Institute for Materials Science

  • Tobias Holder

    Tel Aviv University, Weizmann Institute of Science

  • Yuval Oreg

    Weizmann Institute of Science

  • Yuval Ronen

    Weizmann Institute of Science