Visualizing flat-band spatial renormalization in rhombohedral graphene superlattices

Abstract

Rhombohedral graphene/hBN moiré superlattices exhibit flat-band-driven emergent phases, including superconductivity and the fractional quantum anomalous Hall effect (FQAHE), yet the microscopic role of the moiré potential remains unclear. Here, using scanning tunneling microscopy, we visualize moiré-modulated spatial renormalization of flat bands in rhombohedral pentalayer and tetralayer graphene/hBN superlattices. We observe spatially hierarchical filling, manifested as periodic energy shifts of the flat bands at the moiré scale, leading to spatial reshaping of correlated states in the interacting regime. Remarkably, this modulation vanishes below a ~10 nm moiré period--the same threshold below which the FQAHE is absent. Theoretical modeling attributes this mechanism to atomic-corrugation-induced charge redistribution. Our work provides real-space visualization of moiré-engineered flat-band reconstruction, resolving a key link between moiré periodic potential and emergent topological order.

17 pages, 5 figures