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Generalized Wigner crystal states on square lattices
Phys. Rev. B 112, 195113 – Published 12 November, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/9737-qhm5
Abstract
Inspired by observations of generalized Wigner crystal states in moiré materials, we systematically investigate charge orderings of electrons on a square lattice with long-range interactions . Using simulated annealing Monte Carlo simulations in the classical limit without kinetic energy, we obtain the generalized Wigner crystal states for almost all rational fillings () and different . For large , we find the ground states can be obtained by the so-called Farey construction method by compositing different fundamental stripes with -filling (except ), largely consistent with the greedy lattice algorithm for fast-decay interactions. For small , we further identify the -filling as a new fundamental state such that the states for can be constructed by the Farey construction method. For , a dual lattice subtraction applies: removing -filling states from the half-filled checkerboard state. Further incorporating kinetic energy via self-consistent mean-field calculations shows that most of these Wigner crystal states are stable against quantum fluctuations until melting. Our work establishes a complete classical-to-quantum framework to understand the generalized Wigner crystals on the square lattice, which can be generalized to other underlying lattices.