Local Probe Studies of the Orbital Texture of a Single-Layer Mott Insulator

Mott insulators are insulating phases induced by strong electron correlation that can lead to exotic states such as high-temperature superconductivity and quantum spin liquids. Recent advances in van der Waals material synthesis enable the exploration of novel Mott systems in the two-dimensional limit. Here we present the characterization of the single-layer Mott insulator 1T-TaSe₂ via energy-, spatial-, and momentum-resolved measurement of its electronic structure by scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. Our study establishes single-layer 1T-TaSe₂ as a novel Mott insulator, thus providing an ideal experimental platform for investigating strong correlation physics in two-dimensional materials.