Microscopic Modeling of Interlayer Tunneling in Twisted Bilayer Cuprates
Abstract
The field of twistronics, recently extended to twisted bilayer cuprate systems, has generated considerable interest due to the prediction of d+id' states close to a 45∘ twist, as suggested by multiple experimental probes. Theoretical studies of these systems using a variety of models and many-body theoretical techniques have revealed multiple competing order parameters. The large variability in experimental results and theoretical predictions demands an accurate microscopic model for these systems, in particular a more realistic description of the interlayer tunneling. In this study, we fit the in-plane hopping and compute the interlayer tunneling amplitudes by calculating the orbital overlap between dx2−y2 wave functions at each site of the twisted square-lattice model. We observe sign-changing tunneling amplitudes, a strong twist-angle dependence of the direct tunneling term, and long-range tunneling amplitudes that often dominate over direct tunneling. We investigate the band structure, Fermi surfaces, and spectral functions in comparison with those obtained from the phenomenological model and find a substantial redistribution of spectral weight that modifies the competition between different superconducting ground states. We determine the phase diagram as a function of twist angle, filling, and direct tunneling strength, which is controlled by the c-axis distance between the monolayers, and observe a reduction in the region of time-reversal-symmetry-breaking (TRSB) d+id' states compared with the phenomenological model. Finally, we investigate the Josephson critical current across the phase diagram and find strongly suppressed critical currents close to a 45∘ twist, consistent with experimental observations.
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BibTeX
@misc{panda2026microscopic,
title = {{Microscopic Modeling of Interlayer Tunneling in Twisted Bilayer Cuprates}},
author = {Siddhant Panda and Andreas Kreisel and Laura Fanfarillo and P. J. Hirschfeld},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.16930},
eprint = {2610.16930},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.16930},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Microscopic Modeling of Interlayer Tunneling in Twisted Bilayer Cuprates
AU - Siddhant Panda
AU - Andreas Kreisel
AU - Laura Fanfarillo
AU - P. J. Hirschfeld
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/12
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.16930
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.16930
AB - The field of twistronics, recently extended to twisted bilayer cuprate systems, has generated considerable interest due to the prediction of d+id' states close to a 45^∘ twist, as suggested by multiple experimental probes. Theoretical studies of these systems using a variety of models and many-body theoretical techniques have revealed multiple competing order parameters. The large variability in experimental results and theoretical predictions demands an accurate microscopic model for these systems, in particular a more realistic description of the interlayer tunneling. In this study, we fit the in-plane hopping and compute the interlayer tunneling amplitudes by calculating the orbital overlap between d_x^2−y^2 wave functions at each site of the twisted square-lattice model. We observe sign-changing tunneling amplitudes, a strong twist-angle dependence of the direct tunneling term, and long-range tunneling amplitudes that often dominate over direct tunneling. We investigate the band structure, Fermi surfaces, and spectral functions in comparison with those obtained from the phenomenological model and find a substantial redistribution of spectral weight that modifies the competition between different superconducting ground states. We determine the phase diagram as a function of twist angle, filling, and direct tunneling strength, which is controlled by the c-axis distance between the monolayers, and observe a reduction in the region of time-reversal-symmetry-breaking (TRSB) d+id' states compared with the phenomenological model. Finally, we investigate the Josephson critical current across the phase diagram and find strongly suppressed critical currents close to a 45^∘ twist, consistent with experimental observations.
ER -