Steve Simon

Abstract:

Recent scanning tunneling microscopy experiments in twisted bilayer [K. P. Nuckolls et al., Nature (London) 620, 525 (2023)] and trilayer [H. Kim et al., Nature (London) 623, 942 (2023)] graphene have revealed the ubiquity of Kekulé charge-density wave order in magic-angle graphene. Most samples are moderately strained and show “incommensurate Kekulé spiral” (IKS) order involving a graphene-scale charge density distortion uniaxially modulated on the scale of the moiré superlattice, in accord with theoretical predictions. However, ultralow strain bilayer samples instead show graphene-scale Kekulé charge order that is uniform on the moiré scale. This order, especially prominent near filling factor 𝜈=−2, is unanticipated by theory which predicts a time-reversal breaking Kekulé current order at low strain. We show that including the coupling of moiré electrons to graphene-scale optical zone-corner (ZC) phonons stabilizes a uniform Kekulé charge ordered state at |𝜈|=2 with a quantized topological (spin or anomalous Hall) response. Our work clarifies how this phonon-driven selection of electronic order emerges in the strong-coupling regime of moiré graphene.

Abstract:

In this work we present a proposal for realising non-Abelian anyons on a NISQ device. In particular we explore the feasibility of implementing the quantum double model D(D₄). We propose techniques to drastically simplify the circuits for the manipulation and measurements of anyons. Numerical simulations with realistic noise models suggest that current NISQ technology is capable of probing signatures of non-Abelian anyons far beyond elemental properties such as the non-commutativity of braids. In particular, we conclude that experimentally measuring the full modular data of the model is feasible.