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Transition metal dichalcogenide moiré homobilayers have emerged as a platform in which magnetism, strong correlations and topology are intertwined. In a large magnetic field, the energetic alignment of states with different spin in these systems is dictated by both strong Zeeman splitting and the structure of the Hofstadter’s butterfly spectrum, yet the latter has been difficult to probe experimentally. Here we observe a cascade of magnetic phase transitions in a twisted WSe2 homobilayer using local thermodynamic measurements. We interpret these transitions as the filling of individual Hofstadter subbands, enabling us to extract the structure and connectivity of the Hofstadter spectrum for a single spin. The onset of magnetic transitions is independent of twist angle, indicating that the exchange interactions of the component layers are only weakly modified by the moiré potential. By contrast, the magnetic transitions are associated with changes in the insulating states at commensurate filling. Our work achieves a spin-resolved measurement of Hofstadter’s butterfly despite overlapping states and disentangles the role of material properties and moiré superlattices in stabilizing the correlated ground states.

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  This version of the article has been accepted for publication, after peer review (when applicable) and is subject to Springer Nature’s AM terms of use, but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-025-03083-5.

Keyword: Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMD), Moiré superlattice, Hofstadter's butterfly

Date published: 2025-10-21

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Journal:

• Nature Physics (ISSN: 17452481) vol. 21 issue. 12 p. 1942-1948

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Manuscript type: Author's version (Accepted manuscript)

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First published URL: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-025-03083-5

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Updated at: 2026-06-25 15:37:32 +0900

Published on MDR: 2026-06-25 18:29:53 +0900