Engineering topological exciton structures in two-dimensional semiconductors by a periodic electrostatic potential

Abstract: We propose to engineer topological exciton structures in layered transition metal dichalcogenides through hybridizing different Rydberg states, which can be induced by a periodic electrostatic potential remotely imprinted from charge distributions in adjacent layers. Topological phase diagrams are obtained for potentials with various strengths and wavelengths. We find the lowest band of the interlayer exciton can become topologically nontrivial, which exhibits a small bandwidth as well as quantum geometries well suited for realizing the bosonic fractional Chern insulator. For monolayer excitons, topological bands and in-gap helical edge states can emerge near the energy of 2p states.