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Interplay between many-body correlations, strain, and lattice relaxation in twisted bilayer graphene

Lorenzo Crippa1,*, Gautam Rai1,2,*, Dumitru Călugăru3,4, Haoyu Hu5, Jonah Herzog-Arbeitman3, B. Andrei Bernevig3,5,6, Roser Valentí7, Giorgio Sangiovanni8, and Tim Wehling1,2

  • *These authors contributed equally to this work.
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Phys. Rev. B 113, L241112 – Published 17 June, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/x2mz-hm8y

Abstract

In twisted bilayer graphene, a unified understanding of the mechanisms governing temperature-dependent electronic spectra and thermodynamic properties remains controversial despite extensive theoretical efforts. Here, we present a comprehensive theoretical framework that quantitatively accounts for scanning tunneling spectroscopy, quantum twisting microscopy, and thermodynamic properties of magic angle twisted bilayer graphene. We demonstrate that the observed behavior arises from the interplay between electron correlations and external symmetry breaking induced by strain and lattice relaxation. These effects act cooperatively to shape the emergent electronic behavior, leaving characteristic signatures across spectroscopy, compressibility, and entropy.

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Phys. Rev. B 113, L241112– Published 17 June, 2026
  • Received 14 October 2025
  • Revised 29 May 2026
  • Accepted 2 June 2026
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