Wigner crystals in two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenides: Spin physics and readout
Johannes Knörzer, Martin J. A. Schuetz, G. Giedke, Dominik S. Wild, Kristiaan De Greve, Richard Schmidt, Mikhail D. Lukin, J. I. Cirac
Abstract
This work appraises two-dimensional semiconductors as a platform for Wigner crystalization and outlines a procedure for minimally invasive all-optical detection of charge and spin ordering in such structures. For incident light with optimally chosen beam parameters and polarization, the authors predict a strong dependence of the transmitted and reflected signals on the underlying lattice periodicity, thus revealing the charge order inherent in self-assembled electron lattices. Furthermore, the spin physics of Wigner crystals in transition-metal dichalcogenides is discussed, which is of relevance for quantum simulation of spin models.