Direct Visualization of Dark Interlayer Exciton Transport in Moiré Superlattices.

Moiré superlattices have emerged as an unprecedented manipulation tool for engineering correlated quantum phenomena in van der Waals heterostructures. With moiré potentials as a naturally configurable solid-state that sustains high exciton density, interlayer excitons in transition metal dichalcogenide heterostructures are expected to achieve high-temperature exciton condensation. However, the exciton degeneracy state is usually optically inactive due to the finite momentum of interlayer excitons. Experimental observation of dark interlayer excitons in moiré potentials remains challenging. Here we directly visualize the dark interlayer exciton transport in WS2/h-BN/WSe2 heterostructures using femtosecond transient absorption microscopy. We observe a transition from classical free exciton gas to quantum degeneracy by imaging temperature-dependent exciton transport. Below a critical degeneracy temperature, exciton diffusion rates exhibit an accelerating downward trend, which can be explained well by a nonlinear quantum diffusion model. These results open the door to quantum information processing and high-precision metrology in moiré superlattices.

Non-contact friction energy dissipation via hysteretic behavior on a graphite surface.

For non-contact friction, energy is usually dissipated through phonon excitation, Joule dissipation and van der Waals friction. Although some new dissipation mechanisms related to the quantum phenomenon have been discovered, the contribution of hysteretic behavior to non-contact friction energy dissipation is lacking in research. In this paper, the distance dependence of non-contact friction on the graphite surface is studied by using a quartz tuning fork with lateral vibration in the atmosphere. It is found that energy dissipation begins to increase when the distance is less than 2 nm, showing the form of phonon dissipation. However, when the distance is further decreased, the dissipation deviates from phonon dissipation and presents a huge friction energy dissipation peak, which is caused by the hysteretic behavior between the vibration of the surface atoms and the oscillation of the tip. This work expands the understanding of the energy dissipation mechanism of non-contact friction.