Revealing quantum geometry effects in magic angle twisted bilayer graphene using the circular photogalvanic effect
Magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene (MATBG) hosts flat bands whose correlated and topological phases depend sensitively on the electronic point-group symmetry, which is set by the device configuration including twist angle, heterostrain, and substrate and cap-layer coupling. Here we report near-infrared photocurrent measurements of a MATBG device encapsulated by an hBN substrate and a WSe$_2$ cap layer, at a twist angle of 1.05°. Using spatially resolved photocurrent imaging with polarization analysis, we disentangle the photothermoelectric response from the circular photogalvanic effect (CPGE) across all fillings of the moiré flat bands. A finite CPGE at normal incidence, forbidden in high-symmetry structures, directly constrains the point-group symmetry of MATBG and reveals a Berry curvature dipole intrinsic to the MATBG flat bands, activated by the symmetry lowering from heterostrain and the asymmetric hBN/WSe$_2$ environment. Our results establish nonlinear photocurrent as an all-optical probe of symmetry and quantum geometry in proximity-engineered moiré materials.