The Physics Colloquium McMillan Award: Advances in the fractional quantum anomalous Hall effect in twisted MoTe₂

Event Type

Seminar/Symposium

Sponsor

Department of Physics

Location

Loomis Lab 141

Virtual

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Date

Oct 22, 2025   4:00 pm  

Speaker

Jiaqi Cai (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Contact

Danielle Swigart

E-Mail

dswigart@illinois.edu

Views

25

Originating Calendar

Physics - Colloquium

Abstract: Condensed matter physics seeks to understand the collective behavior of particles, which often manifest as quasiparticles. The principle of fractionalization, in particular, uncovers exotic ones with no Standard Model counterpart. A seminal example is the fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE), where electrons in a 2D gas form anyons with fractional charge and anyonic statistics under extreme magnetic fields. However, these stringent experimental conditions pose significant challenges for manipulating and probing these exotic states.
 This talk will present the discovery and recent advances in the fractional quantum anomalous Hall effect (FQAHE), a lattice analog of the FQHE that emerges in the topological flat bands of twisted MoTe₂ at zero magnetic field. The absence of an external magnetic field enables the application of novel experimental probes. We will focus on recent progress using these new techniques, including the detection of charge-neutral spin excitations, which provides new insights into the nature of anyonic physics in this strongly correlated platform.