Direct imaging uncovers dual light and heavy electron bands in magic-angle graphene
Using the quantum twisting microscope, researchers map the interacting energy bands of magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene (MATBG). Away from the magic angle the bands follow single-particle predictions, but at the magic angle interactions reshape them into largely flat, gapped bands across most of momentum space, with dispersive, light-electron states near Γ. Upon doping, charge transfers between light (c-like) and heavy (f-like) states drive bandwidth renormalization, Mott-like cascades, and Dirac revivals, while an unexplained ~15 meV excitation hints at an additional degree of freedom. The work resolves MATBG’s long-standing duality and showcases the quantum twisting microscope as a powerful tool for high-resolution quantum-material spectroscopy.