Tailoring Dirac Fermions by In-Situ Tunable High-Order Moiré Pattern in Graphene-Monolayer Xenon Heterostructure

We report an experimental study of a high-order moiré pattern formed in graphene-monolayer xenon heterostructure. The moiré period is in situ tuned from few nanometers to +∞, by adjusting the lattice constant of the xenon monolayer through annealing. Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we observe that Dirac node replicas move closer and finally overlap with a gap opening, as the moiré pattern expands to +∞ and evolves into a Kekulé distortion. A moiré Hamiltonian coupling Dirac fermions from different valleys explains experimental results and indicates narrow moiré band. Our Letter demonstrates a platform to study continuous evolution of the moiré pattern, and provides an unprecedented approach for tailoring Dirac fermions with tunable intervalley coupling.