Journal article Exciton dynamics in marginally twisted WS e 2 homobilayer: Role of interlayer coupling, phonons, and intervalley scattering
Hansol Kim (author) (Search by this author)
;
Gyusu Lee (author) (Search by this author)
;
Jinjae Kim (author) (Search by this author)
;
Jiwon Park (author) (Search by this author)
;
Andrew S. Kim (author) (Search by this author)
;
Jongyun Choi (author) (Search by this author)
;
Kenji Watanabe (author) (Search by this author)
ORCID SAMURAI ;
Takashi Taniguchi (author) (Search by this author)
ORCID SAMURAI ;
Moon-Ho Jo (author) (Search by this author)
;
Hyunyong Choi (author) (Search by this author)
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Citation
Hansol Kim, Gyusu Lee, Jinjae Kim, Jiwon Park, Andrew S. Kim, Jongyun Choi, Kenji Watanabe, Takashi Taniguchi, Moon-Ho Jo, Hyunyong Choi. Exciton dynamics in marginally twisted WS e 2 homobilayer: Role of interlayer coupling, phonons, and intervalley scattering. Physical Review B. 2025, 112 (10), 104305. https://doi.org/10.1103/2whm-6xyv

Description:

(abstract)

In moiré materials, excitons serve as optical probes because of the sensitivity to both valley-dependent electronic structure and many-body excitonic interactions. For angle-tuned twisted bilayers, lattice reconstruction becomes significant at marginal twist angles, raising interesting questions about the optical characteristics of excitons both in the steady-state and nonequilibrium regimes. In this work, we investigate both the steady-state and the ultrafast transient exciton behaviors in a twisted WSe2 homobilayer (t-WSe2) using reflection contrast, polarization-resolved photoluminescence, and ultrafast pump–probe spectroscopy. We report the emergence of two distinct intralayer excitons in the lattice reconstructed t-WSe2, which are used to probe local electronic asymmetries and interlayer coupling in moiré domains. These excitons possess distinct temperature- and doping-dependent valley coherence and population dynamics, arising from the asymmetric interlayer coupling. Theoretical modeling via the Lindblad master equation highlights that the pure dephasing rate increases with hole doping, attributed to the enhanced electron-hole interactions. Ultrafast degenerate pump-probe spectroscopy reveals distinct fast decaying dynamics (<1 ps) for the two intralayer excitonic absorption species, 𝑋1 and 𝑋2, where the asymmetric interlayer coupling contributes more to the faster 𝑋1 decay than 𝑋2. Optical-pump and white-light probe spectroscopy further unveils a biexponential decay, where the fast component (𝜏fast≈0.7–0.9ps) signifies rapid radiative recombination with repopulation effects in the optical light cone. The slow component (𝜏slow≈100–300ps) is linked to exciton-phonon scattering and population relaxation via interlayer breathing phonons. We also present that intervalley scattering pathways, i.e., mediated by the 𝐾⁢𝑄 transitions, are distinct from the monolayer counterpart. This work provides detailed insights into the exciton population dynamics in twisted homobilayers, highlighting the role of intervalley and exciton-phonon interactions in the transient multiple exciton complex behaviors.

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Keyword: Twisted WSe2 homobilayer, Moiré exciton, Ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopy

Date published: 2025-09-04

Publisher: American Physical Society (APS)

Journal:

  • Physical Review B (ISSN: 1550235X) vol. 112 issue. 10 p. 104305-104305 104305

Funding:

  • National Research Foundation of Korea 2019R1A5A1027055
  • Institute for Basic Science IBS-R034-D1
  • Guelph Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
  • Ministry of Science and ICT, South Korea RS-2023–00258359
  • Ministry of Science and ICT, South Korea 2021R1A6C101B418
  • National Research Foundation of Korea 2021R1A2C3005905
  • National Research Foundation of Korea RS-2024–00413957
  • National Research Foundation of Korea RS-2024–00466612
  • National Research Foundation of Korea RS-2024–00487645

Manuscript type: Author's version (Accepted manuscript)

MDR DOI:

First published URL: https://doi.org/10.1103/2whm-6xyv

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Updated at: 2026-06-26 17:19:33 +0900

Published on MDR: 2026-06-27 08:28:01 +0900

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