'Magic' angle graphene and the creation of unexpected topological quantum states

image: A Princeton-led team of physicists have discovered that, under certain conditions, interacting electrons can create what are called "topological quantum states," which, has implications for many technological fields of study, especially information technology. This diagram of a scanning tunneling microscope shows the magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene. view more 

Credit: Kevin Nuckolls, Department of Physics, Princeton University

Electrons inhabit a strange and topsy-turvy world. These infinitesimally small particles have never ceased to amaze and mystify despite the more than a century that scientists have studied them. Now, in an even more amazing twist, physicists have discovered that, under certain conditions, interacting electrons can create what are called "topological quantum states." This finding, which was recently published in the journal Nature, has implications for many technological fields of study, especially information technology.

Topological states of matter are particularly intriguing classes of quantum phenomena. Their study combines quantum physics with topology, which is the branch of theoretical mathematics that studies geometric properties that can be deformed but not intrinsically changed. Topological quantum states first came to the public's attention in 2016 when three scientists -- Princeton's