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  • Letter
  • Open Access

Site-polarized Mott phases competing with a correlated metal in twisted WSe2

Siheon Ryee1,2,*, Lennart Klebl3,1, Gautam Rai1,2, Ammon Fischer4,5, Valentin Crépel6, Lede Xian7,8,4, Angel Rubio4,6, Dante M. Kennes5,4, Roser Valentí9 et al.

Andrew J. Millis6,10, Antoine Georges11,6,12,13, and Tim O. Wehling1,2

  • *Contact author: siheonryee@gmail.com
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Phys. Rev. B 113, L081106 – Published 13 February, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/dz6l-9z4n

Abstract

Twisted WSe2 hosts superconductivity, metal-insulator phase transitions, and field-controllable Fermi-liquid to non-Fermi-liquid transport properties. In this work, we use dynamical mean-field theory to provide a coherent understanding of the electronic correlations shaping the twisted WSe2 phase diagram. We find a correlated metal competing with three distinct site-polarized correlated insulators; the competition is controlled by interlayer potential difference and interaction strength. The insulators are characterized by a strong differentiation between orbitals with respect to carrier concentration and effective correlation strength. Upon doping, a strong particle-hole asymmetry emerges, resulting from a Zaanen-Sawatzky-Allen-type charge-transfer mechanism. The associated charge-transfer physics and proximity to a van Hove singularity in the correlated metal sandwiched between two site-polarized insulators naturally explains the interlayer potential-driven metal-to-insulator transition, particle-hole asymmetry in transport, and the coherence-incoherence crossover in 3.65∘ twisted WSe2.

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Phys. Rev. B 113, L081106– Published 13 February, 2026
  • Received 18 July 2025
  • Revised 16 January 2026
  • Accepted 27 January 2026
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