Valley-spin polarization at zero magnetic field induced by strong hole-hole interactions in monolayer WSe ₂

Monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides have emerged as prominent candidates to explore the complex interplay between spin and valley degrees of freedom. Their strong spin-orbit interaction and broken inversion symmetry lead to the spin-valley locking effect, in which carriers occupying the <i>K</i> and <i>K</i>' valleys of the reciprocal space must have opposite spins. This effect is particularly strong for holes due to a larger spin-orbit gap in the valence band. By reducing the dimensionality of a monolayer of WSe₂ to 1D via electrostatic confinement, we demonstrate that spin-valley locking and strong hole-hole interactions lead to a ferromagnetic state where hole transport is spin-valley polarized, even without an applied magnetic field. A massive Dirac fermion model in the Hartree-Fock approximation reveals that many-body hole-exchange interactions lead to this polarized ground-state. This observation opens the possibility of implementing a robust and stable valley-polarized system, essential in valleytronic applications.