Singlet superconductivity enhanced by charge order in nested twisted bilayer graphene Fermi surfaces

Using the continuum model for low energy non-interacting electronic structure of moiré van der Waals heterostructures developed by Bistritzer and MacDonald [1], we study the competition between spin, charge, and superconducting order in twisted bilayer graphene. Surprisingly, we find that for a range of small angles inclusive of the so-called magic angle, this model features robust Fermi pockets that preclude any Mott insulating phase at weak coupling. However, a Fermi surface reconstruction at θ ≳ 1.2° gives emergent van Hove singularities without any Fermi pockets. Using a hot-spot model for Fermi surface patches around these emergent saddle points, we develop a random-phase approximation from which we obtain a phase diagram very similar to that obtained recently by Isobe, Yuan, and Fu using the parquet renormalization group [2] but with additional insights. For example, our model shows strong nesting around time-reversal symmetric points at a moderate doping of ∼2 × 1011 cm−2 away from the van Hove singularity. When this nesting dominates, we predict that charge-order enhances singlet superconductivity, while spin-order suppresses superconductivity. Our theory also provides additional possibilities for the case of unnested Fermi surfaces.