Topological exciton bands and many-body exciton phases in transition metal dichalcogenide trilayer heterostructures

Abstract: Twisted multilayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are a promising platform for realizing topological exciton phases. Here we propose that twisted TMD heterotrilayers WX$_2$/MX$_2$/WX$_2$ with layer symmetry represents a realistic system for realizing topological exciton bands and interesting many-body excitonic phases, simply by tuning the twist angle. These symmetric heterotrilayers form a type-II band alignment, where the electrons are confined in the middle layer and holes are distributed among the outer two layers, for the lowest energy excitons. The outer two layers are then rotated at different centers by opposite angles, forming a helical structure. Interlayer excitons with opposite dipoles are hybridized by the coupling between outer two layers, resulting in topological moir\'e exciton bands. Furthermore, by constructing a three-orbital tight-binding model, we map the many-body phase diagram of interacting dipolar and quadrupolar excitons at different twist angles and exciton densities and reveal the existence of sublattice-dependent staggered superfluid and Mott insulator phases. The recent experimental observation of quadrupolar excitons in symmetric heterotrilayers brings the intriguing phases predicted in this study within immediate experimental reach.