Eric A Arsenault, Yiliu Li, Birui Yang, Xi Wang, Heonjoon Park, Edoardo Mosconi, Enrico Ronca, Takashi Taniguchi, Kenji Watanabe, Daniel Gamelin, Andrew Millis, Cory R Dean, Filippo de Angelis, Xiaodong Xu, X Y Zhu
Two-dimensional moiré materials have emerged as the most versatile platform for realizing quantum phases of electrons. Here, we explore the stability origins of correlated states in WSe_{2}/WS_{2} moiré superlattices. We find that ultrafast electronic excitation leads to partial melting of the Mott states on timescales 5 times longer than predictions from the charge hopping integrals and that the melting rates are thermally activated, with activation energies of 18±3 and 13±2 meV for the one- and two-hole Mott states, respectively, suggesting significant electron-phonon coupling...
March 22, 2024: Physical Review Letters