A new symmetry-broken parent state discovered in twisted bilayer graphene

In 2018 it was discovered that two layers of graphene twisted one with respect to the other by a "magic" angle show a variety of interesting quantum phases, including superconductivity, magnetism and insulating behaviors. Now, a team of researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science led by Prof. Shahal Ilani of the Condensed Matter Physics Department, in collaboration with Prof. Pablo Jarillo-Herrero's group at MIT, have discovered that these quantum phases descend from a previously unknown high-energy "parent state" with an unusual breaking of symmetry.