{
  "abstract": "Helical trilayer graphene (HTG) has emerged as a highly tunable moire quantum material that hosts strong electronic correlations and nontrivial band topology. However, the atomic-scale lattice structure and local electronic properties have remained largely unexplored. Here we present a comprehensive real-space study of HTG using a combination of scanning near-field optical microscopy and low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy. We directly image supermoire lattice relaxation, revealing large triangular domains separated by sharp domain walls, as well as stripe domains connected by smoothly varying boundaries. Atomic-scale spectroscopy uncovers flat bands with a honeycomb electronic texture and one-dimensional boundary states confined to domain walls. By systematically varying the twist angle, we identify a magic angle of approximately 1.9°, substantially larger than the 1.6 degree predicted by theory. Our results establish a direct microscopic link between lattice relaxation and flat bands in HTG.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2609.39986",
  "author_total": 18,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Shudan Jiang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Zonglin Li"
    },
    {
      "name": "Yu Gu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Liang Liu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Dandan Guan"
    },
    {
      "name": "Yaoyi Li"
    },
    {
      "name": "Hao Zheng"
    },
    {
      "name": "Canhua Liu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Kenji Watanabe"
    },
    {
      "name": "Takashi Taniguchi"
    },
    {
      "name": "Shengwei Jiang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Xiaoxue Liu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Zhiwen Shi"
    },
    {
      "name": "Guorui Chen"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jinfeng Jia"
    },
    {
      "name": "Tingxin Li"
    },
    {
      "name": "Can Li"
    },
    {
      "name": "Shiyong Wang"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/13xeccfx0ense.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2609.39986",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "13xeccfx0ense",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.39986",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "cond-mat.mes-hall"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "cond-mat.mtrl-sci"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "cond-mat.str-el"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2505|Graphene research and applications"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7215037347",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2609.39986",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-30",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/13xeccfx0ense.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:25:49Z",
      "native_id": "2609.39986",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.39986"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:cond-mat.mes-hall",
      "subfield": "condensed-matter"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Atomic-Scale Imaging of Lattice Relaxation and Topological Flat Bands in Helical Trilayer Graphene",
  "title_text": "Atomic-Scale Imaging of Lattice Relaxation and Topological Flat Bands in Helical Trilayer Graphene",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:25:49Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/13xeccfx0ense",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}