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While Landau’s Fermi liquid theory provides the standard description for two- and three-dimensional (2D/3D) conductors, the physics of interacting one-dimensional (1D) conductors is governed by the distinct Luttinger liquid (LL) theory1,2. Can a LL-like state, in which low energy excitations are fractionalized electronic modes, emerge in a 2D system as a stable zero temperature ground phase? This long-standing question, first brought up by Anderson3–6 three decades ago, is crucial in the study of non-Fermi liquids7–11 but remains unsettled. A recent experiment12 identified a moiré superlattice of twisted bilayer tungsten ditelluride (tWTe2) with a small interlayer twist angle as a 2D host of the LL physics at temperatures of a few kelvins. In this work, we report experimental evidence for an anisotropic 2D LL state, down to at least 50 mK, spontaneously formed in a tWTe2 system with a twist angle of ~ 3o. While the system is metallic and nearly isotropic above 2 K, a dramatically enhanced electronic anisotropy develops in the millikelvin regime, featuring qualitatively distinct transport along two orthogonal in-plane directions. In the strongly anisotropic regime, we observe transport characteristics of a LL state, i.e., the universal power law scaling behaviors in conductance as a function of both temperature and voltage bias. Our results represent a major step forward in the search for stable LL physics beyond 1D, opening a new avenue for studying non-Fermi liquids and unconventional quantum matter.

Rights:

• Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 International
  

Keyword: Luttinger liquid theory, twisted bilayer tungsten ditelluride, electronic anisotropy

Date published: 2023-11-02

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Journal:

• Nature Communications (ISSN: 20411723) vol. 14 issue. 1 7025

Funding:

• United States Department of Defense | United States Navy | Office of Naval Research N00014-21-1-2804
• NSF | Directorate for Mathematical & Physical Sciences | Division of Materials Research DMR-1942942
• NSF | Directorate for Mathematical & Physical Sciences | Division of Materials Research DMR-2011750
• NSF | Directorate for Mathematical & Physical Sciences | Division of Materials Research

Manuscript type: Publisher's version (Version of record)

MDR DOI:

First published URL: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-42821-2

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Updated at: 2025-02-11 12:30:26 +0900

Published on MDR: 2025-02-11 12:30:27 +0900