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Peer-reviewedCC BYNature Physics

Spectroscopy of Wigner crystal polarons in an atomically thin semiconductor

  • Lujun Wang1
  • F. Menzel1
  • F. Pichler2,3
  • Patrick Knüppel1
  • K. Watanabe4
  • T. Taniguchi5
  • M. Knap2,3
  • Tomasz Smoleński1
5 affiliations
  1. 1Department of Physics, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
  2. 2Munich Center for Quantum Science and Technology (MCQST), München, Germany
  3. 3Technical University of Munich, TUM School of Natural Sciences, Physics Department, Garching, Germany
  4. 4Research Center for Electronic and Optical Materials, National Institute for Materials Science, Tsukuba, Japan
  5. 5Research Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics, National Institute for Materials Science, Tsukuba, Japan
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Abstract

Strongly interacting electrons in two-dimensional systems can spontaneously break translational symmetry, forming a periodic Wigner crystal. Although these crystals have been realized in several platforms, experimental studies of their collective many-body excitations in the absence of a magnetic field have not been demonstrated. Here we access this regime optically by uncovering Wigner crystal polarons, which are hybrid light–matter quasiparticles that arise from the dressing of excitons by the collective excitations of the Wigner crystal. These polarons manifest as optical resonances in the cryogenic reflectance spectra of a charge-tunable WSe 2 monolayer, appearing concurrently with previously identified exciton umklapp transitions. In contrast to the latter, the energies of Wigner crystal polarons are governed not only by the electronic lattice constant but also by their hybridization with attractive exciton–polarons, whose strength is controlled by electronic interactions. These many-body excitations provide an optical interface to the spin state of the Wigner crystal that, as we demonstrate, can be controlled both magnetically and optically. Our work establishes layered materials as a platform for exploring dynamical impurity dressing by strongly correlated electronic orders.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{wang2026spectroscopy,
  title = {{Spectroscopy of Wigner crystal polarons in an atomically thin semiconductor}},
  author = {Lujun Wang and F. Menzel and F. Pichler and Patrick Knüppel and K. Watanabe and T. Taniguchi and M. Knap and Tomasz Smoleński},
  journal = {Nature Physics},
  year = {2026},
  month = aug,
  doi = {10.1038/s41567-026-03395-0},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-026-03395-0},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Spectroscopy of Wigner crystal polarons in an atomically thin semiconductor
AU  - Lujun Wang
AU  - F. Menzel
AU  - F. Pichler
AU  - Patrick Knüppel
AU  - K. Watanabe
AU  - T. Taniguchi
AU  - M. Knap
AU  - Tomasz Smoleński
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/11
JO  - Nature Physics
DO  - 10.1038/s41567-026-03395-0
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-026-03395-0
AB  - Strongly interacting electrons in two-dimensional systems can spontaneously break translational symmetry, forming a periodic Wigner crystal. Although these crystals have been realized in several platforms, experimental studies of their collective many-body excitations in the absence of a magnetic field have not been demonstrated. Here we access this regime optically by uncovering Wigner crystal polarons, which are hybrid light–matter quasiparticles that arise from the dressing of excitons by the collective excitations of the Wigner crystal. These polarons manifest as optical resonances in the cryogenic reflectance spectra of a charge-tunable WSe 2 monolayer, appearing concurrently with previously identified exciton umklapp transitions. In contrast to the latter, the energies of Wigner crystal polarons are governed not only by the electronic lattice constant but also by their hybridization with attractive exciton–polarons, whose strength is controlled by electronic interactions. These many-body excitations provide an optical interface to the spin state of the Wigner crystal that, as we demonstrate, can be controlled both magnetically and optically. Our work establishes layered materials as a platform for exploring dynamical impurity dressing by strongly correlated electronic orders.
SN  - 1745-2473
SN  - 1745-2481
ER  -