Quantum criticality and tunable Griffiths phase in superconducting twisted trilayer graphene

Quantum criticality and tunable Griffiths phase in superconducting twisted trilayer graphene | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Quantum criticality and tunable Griffiths phase in superconducting twisted trilayer graphene Eva Andrei, Phanibhusan Mahapatra, Haining Pan, Kenji Watanabe, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7097802/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract When dimensionality is reduced, enhanced quantum fluctuations can destroy long-range phase coherence, driving a superconductor–insulator transition (SIT), where disorder and electronic correlations give rise to novel many-body states. Here, we report the first observation of a magnetic field–tuned SIT in mirror-symmetric twisted trilayer graphene (TTG). Remarkably, signatures of quantum criticality persist over an exceptionally broad range of magnetic fields and are well described by the formation of a quantum Griffiths phase, a regime in which rare spatially extended regions develop local order within a globally disordered phase. This leads to a quantum phase transition governed by an infinite-randomness fixed point and characterized by ultraslow relaxation dynamics. Near the quantum critical region, transport measurements reveal strongly nonlinear electrical behavior, including a current-driven reentrant transition from insulating to superconducting transport, providing direct evidence of local superconducting order. By tilting the magnetic field, we are able to collapse the broad Griffiths regime into a single quantum critical point (QCP), demonstrating a striking level of control over disorder-induced quantum dynamics. Our results further show that TTG strongly violates the Pauli limit and establishes twisted trilayer graphene as a tunable platform for exploring quantum phase fluctuations, Cooper pair localization, and unconventional superconductivity. Physical sciences/Physics Physical sciences/Physics/Condensed-matter physics/Phase transitions and critical phenomena Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SupplementaryInformationV5.docx Quantum criticality and tunable Griffiths phase in superconducting twisted trilayer graphene Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7097802","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":495460390,"identity":"f0d127cf-7dab-4b0f-b5ae-d78229ebcf28","order_by":0,"name":"Eva 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Here, we report the first observation of a magnetic field–tuned SIT in mirror-symmetric twisted trilayer graphene (TTG). Remarkably, signatures of quantum criticality persist over an exceptionally broad range of magnetic fields and are well described by the formation of a quantum Griffiths phase, a regime in which rare spatially extended regions develop local order within a globally disordered phase. This leads to a quantum phase transition governed by an infinite-randomness fixed point and characterized by ultraslow relaxation dynamics. Near the quantum critical region, transport measurements reveal strongly nonlinear electrical behavior, including a current-driven reentrant transition from insulating to superconducting transport, providing direct evidence of local superconducting order. 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