Quantum fluctuations stabilise an unexpected ‘electronic quasicrystal’ in bilayer wells

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have identified an unexpected quantum phase of matter within bilayer semiconductor quantum wells: an electronic quasicrystal formed by Wigner crystals with a striking 30° twist. This state, discovered using neural-network variational Monte Carlo calculations, challenges classical predictions by emerging from a regime dominated by quantum fluctuations. The work demonstrates that zero-point motion stabilizes this unusual structure, establishing a route to spontaneous moiré physics driven by many-body quantum effects. The team’s analytical framework reveals how these fluctuations reshape energy levels, selecting the quasicrystalline ground state over the classically favored honeycomb arrangement. Quantum fluctuations fundamentally reshape the energetic landscape of bilayer electron systems, selecting a 30° twisted configuration as the ground state over a broad range of parameters. Unlike classical bilayer arrangements of point charges which favor crystalline structures like a honeycomb,…