Simulating quantum matter with quantum matter

Van der Waals (VdW) heterostructures have rapidly become one of the most promising platforms for exploring correlated quantum matter. Their exceptional tunability—via twist angle, stacking, gating, and external fields—allows the realization of model Hamiltonians such as the Hubbard or Kondo lattice models in an experimentally accessible setting. This has positioned VdW systems as a powerful complement to other quantum simulators, such as cold atoms and quantum computers. Yet despite the explosive growth of the field since twisted bilayer graphene revealed correlated insulators and superconductivity in 2018, many fundamental mechanisms remain unclear, and the domain now faces the challenge of identifying which open questions are ripe for real progress.
Our workshop aims to critically assess what these tunable platforms have actually taught us about correlated quantum matter. The field has entered a phase where numerous intriguing phenomena—unconventional superconductivity, emergent magnetism, topology-driven phases, and signatures of quantum criticality—have been observed, but their origins remain contested. Key questions are deeply intertwined: topological states often rely on magnetic order, superconductivity may coexist with or compete against strange-metal behavior, and correlated phases recur across different materials and moiré designs. We seek to identify which unresolved issues are realistically addressable in the coming years and which require new approaches.
By bringing together leading experimentalists and theorists, the workshop will evaluate how far VdW heterostructures have advanced our understanding of correlated phases and where the field should focus next. The workshop aim is to define a coherent vision for future research, and to consolidate this vision in a collaborative review article. The workshop will involve key participants, and an open call emphasizing early-career researchers, with a particular goal of strengthening the VdW research communities in the Netherlands and Germany.

Main Topics:
Superconductivity: Nature, symmetry, and mechanisms of unconventional superconductivity across graphene- and TMD-based moiré systems.
Magnetism: Interplay of spin and orbital magnetism with topology, transport, and superconductivity in twisted and untwisted VdW systems.
Topology: Realization and control of topological phases—QAHE, QSH, FCIs, topological superconductors—relative to theoretical predictions.
Quantum Criticality: Role of quantum critical points, strange-metal behavior, and their connection to correlated phases such as Mott transitions and Kondo breakdown.