Light-Driven Polarons Reveal a Wigner Crystal in a 2D WSe2 Monolayer
A cryogenic, gate-tunable WSe2 monolayer hosts a robust Wigner crystal whose collective excitations dress excitons into light–matter polarons. The researchers observe two WP resonances that blueshift with electron density due to hybridization with WC excitations and Bragg-umklapp scattering, alongside exciton-umklapp features. WP intensities depend on the WC spin state and can be controlled magnetically or optically with circular polarization, enabling an optical interface to the electron crystal’s spin. A simple hybridization model captures the density-dependent AP–WP splitting, linking WC dynamics to observable optical spectra. This work demonstrates a versatile platform for studying strongly correlated order via hybrid light–matter excitations in 2D materials and suggests ways to probe WC gaps and spin phenomena optically.
