- Accepted Paper
Valley polarization of chiral excitonic bound states induced by band geometry
Phys. Rev. B - Accepted 2 November, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/186y-4wv2
Phys. Rev. B - Accepted 2 November, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/186y-4wv2
Van der Waals (vdW) materials provide a rich platform for exploring the interplay of interactions, topology, and paired-electron phases. We study how the Berry phase reshapes excitonic pairing in a double-well dispersion representative of layered vdW systems. By computing the temperature- versus-Berry flux phase diagram of the system, we find parameter ranges where finite angular mo- mentum excitons are favored, including chiral states. Strikingly, the condensed angular momentum channel evolves with Berry flux, revealing a pairing problem with no analogue in a hydrogen atom in a uniform magnetic field, where angular momentum states never cross. We then turn to a model of multilayer rhombohedral graphene and examine the effects of trigonal warping. Once continuous rotational symmetry is broken, excitons mix multiple angular momenta, and for a range of parame- ters we find a variety of linear combination of angular momenta (s, p, f and g) in the ground state. Due to bosonic interactions, the ground state is spontaneously valley polarized for low ex- citon densities. Our results point to the possibility of chiral excitonic condensates, and spontaneous symmetry breaking through many-body condensation.
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