Optically induced flat bands in twisted bilayer graphene

Abstract

Twisted bilayer graphene at the magic twist angle features flat energy bands, which lead to superconductivity and strong correlation physics. These unique properties are typically limited to a narrow range of twist angles around the magic angle with a small allowed tolerance. Here, we report on a mechanism that enables flattening of the band structure using coherent optical illumination, leading to emergence of flat isolated Floquet-Bloch bands. We show that the effect can be realized with relatively weak optical beams at the visible-infrared range (below the material bandwidth) and persist for a wide range of small twist angles, increasing the allowed twist tolerance by an order of magnitude. We discuss the conditions under which these bands exhibit a nonzero Chern number. These optically induced flat bands could potentially host strongly correlated nonequilibrium electronic states of matter.