<ul><li>Physicists in the US have found an explanation for why electrons in a material called pentalayer moiré graphene carry fractional charges even in the absence of a magnetic field.</li><li>Teams at MIT, Johns Hopkins University, and Harvard University/University of California, Berkeley have independently suggested that an interaction-induced topological 'flat' band in the material's electronic structure may be responsible.</li><li>The fractional quantum anomalous Hall effect was initially observed in twisted molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe2) in 2023.</li><li>The MIT team found that the moiré arrangement of pentalayer graphene induces a weak electron potential that forces electrons passing through it to arrange themselves in crystal-like periodic patterns, forming a 'flat' electronic band.</li></ul>

Physicists close in on fractionally-charged electron mystery in graphene

Discover more