Emergent frustrated magnetism in strain-patterned graphene

Abstract

Geometrically frustrated magnetism conventionally arises from pre-existing magnetic moments on lattices whose geometry prevents their interactions from being simultaneously satisfied, giving rise to highly degenerate states and rich collective behavior. Creating such frustration in an intrinsically non-magnetic material presents a fundamentally different challenge, requiring both the magnetism and the competing interactions to emerge from correlated electrons. Here we show that this can be realized in graphene through lithographically programmable strain engineering. Patterning strain and the associated pseudo-magnetic field (PMF) into superlattices creates a correlated electronic system with flat bands and strong interactions. Transport measurements reveal interaction-driven insulating behavior, anisotropic magnetic hysteresis, and slow relaxation dynamics reminiscent of spin freezing, qualitatively captured by Monte Carlo simulations of competing magnetic moments on the PMF-defined ruby superlattice. Cryogenic magnetic force microscopy further reveals magnetic textures associated with the PMF landscape. These observations demonstrate frustrated magnetism emerging from correlated electrons in otherwise non-magnetic graphene. Our results establish lithographic strain engineering as a general and scalable route to flat bands and correlated states in van der Waals materials, providing a versatile platform for programmable quantum matter.

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BibTeX RIS

BibTeX

@misc{hsieh2026emergent,
  title = {{Emergent frustrated magnetism in strain-patterned graphene}},
  author = {Yu-Chiang Hsieh and Wen-Han Kao and Christophe De Beule and Sheng-Zhu Ho and Ru-Long Gou and Bo-Nian Chen and Kuan-Yu Chou and Kuo-En Chang and Chin-Chia Chang and Ying-Mei Yang and Ching-Hua Kao and Hao-Chien Chiang and Jyun-Lin Chen and Sheng-Chin Ho and Kenji Watanabe and Takashi Taniguchi and Ming-Hao Liu and Ching-Hao Chang and Yi-Chun Chen and Ying-Jer Kao and Tse-Ming Chen},
  howpublished = {arXiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.31581},
  eprint = {2609.31581},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.31581},
}

RIS

TY  - UNPB
TI  - Emergent frustrated magnetism in strain-patterned graphene
AU  - Yu-Chiang Hsieh
AU  - Wen-Han Kao
AU  - Christophe De Beule
AU  - Sheng-Zhu Ho
AU  - Ru-Long Gou
AU  - Bo-Nian Chen
AU  - Kuan-Yu Chou
AU  - Kuo-En Chang
AU  - Chin-Chia Chang
AU  - Ying-Mei Yang
AU  - Ching-Hua Kao
AU  - Hao-Chien Chiang
AU  - Jyun-Lin Chen
AU  - Sheng-Chin Ho
AU  - Kenji Watanabe
AU  - Takashi Taniguchi
AU  - Ming-Hao Liu
AU  - Ching-Hao Chang
AU  - Yi-Chun Chen
AU  - Ying-Jer Kao
AU  - Tse-Ming Chen
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/25
PB  - arXiv
DO  - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.31581
UR  - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.31581
AB  - Geometrically frustrated magnetism conventionally arises from pre-existing magnetic moments on lattices whose geometry prevents their interactions from being simultaneously satisfied, giving rise to highly degenerate states and rich collective behavior. Creating such frustration in an intrinsically non-magnetic material presents a fundamentally different challenge, requiring both the magnetism and the competing interactions to emerge from correlated electrons. Here we show that this can be realized in graphene through lithographically programmable strain engineering. Patterning strain and the associated pseudo-magnetic field (PMF) into superlattices creates a correlated electronic system with flat bands and strong interactions. Transport measurements reveal interaction-driven insulating behavior, anisotropic magnetic hysteresis, and slow relaxation dynamics reminiscent of spin freezing, qualitatively captured by Monte Carlo simulations of competing magnetic moments on the PMF-defined ruby superlattice. Cryogenic magnetic force microscopy further reveals magnetic textures associated with the PMF landscape. These observations demonstrate frustrated magnetism emerging from correlated electrons in otherwise non-magnetic graphene. Our results establish lithographic strain engineering as a general and scalable route to flat bands and correlated states in van der Waals materials, providing a versatile platform for programmable quantum matter.
ER  -

Abstract

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