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Skyrmion superconductivity: DMRG evidence for a topological route to superconductivity

Abstract

It was recently suggested that the topology of magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene's (MATBG) flat bands could provide a novel mechanism for superconductivity distinct from both weakly coupled BCS theory and the d-wave phenomenology of the high-Tc cuprates. In this work, we examine this possibility using a density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) study of a model which captures the essential features of MATBG's symmetry and topology. Using large-scale cylinder-DMRG calculations to obtain the ground state and its excitations as a function of the electron doping, we find clear evidence for superconductivity driven by the binding of electrons into charge-2e skyrmions. Remarkably, this binding is observed even in the regime where the unscreened Coulomb repulsion is by far the largest energy scale, demonstrating the robustness of this topological, all-electronic pairing mechanism.

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