Nanoscale strain manipulation of smectic susceptibility in kagome superconductors

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Wang, Yidi, Li, Hong, Cheng, Siyu, Zhao, He, Ortiz, Brenden R., Salinas, Andrea Capa, Wilson, Stephen D., Wang, Ziqiang, Zeljkovic, Ilija
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2023
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author Wang, Yidi
Li, Hong
Cheng, Siyu
Zhao, He
Ortiz, Brenden R.
Salinas, Andrea Capa
Wilson, Stephen D.
Wang, Ziqiang
Zeljkovic, Ilija
author_facet Wang, Yidi
Li, Hong
Cheng, Siyu
Zhao, He
Ortiz, Brenden R.
Salinas, Andrea Capa
Wilson, Stephen D.
Wang, Ziqiang
Zeljkovic, Ilija
contents Exotic quantum solids can host electronic states that spontaneously break rotational symmetry of the electronic structure, such as electronic nematic phases and unidirectional charge density waves (CDWs). When electrons couple to the lattice, uniaxial strain can be used to anchor and control this electronic directionality. Here we reveal an unusual impact of strain on unidirectional "smectic" CDW orders in kagome superconductors AV3Sb5 using spectroscopic-imaging scanning tunneling microscopy. We discover local decoupling between the smectic electronic director axis and the direction of anisotropic strain. While the two are generally aligned along the same direction in regions of small CDW gap, the two become misaligned in regions where CDW gap is the largest. This in turn suggests nanoscale variations in smectic susceptibility, which we attribute to a combination of local strain and electron correlation strength. Overall, we observe an unusually high decoupling rate between the smectic electronic director of the 3-state Potts order and anisotropic strain, revealing weak smecto-elastic coupling in the CDW phase of kagome superconductors. This is phenomenologically different from the extensively studied nemato-elastic coupling in the Ising nematic phase of Fe-based superconductors, providing a contrasting picture of how strain can control electronic unidirectionality in different families of quantum materials.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2312_06407
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Nanoscale strain manipulation of smectic susceptibility in kagome superconductors
Wang, Yidi
Li, Hong
Cheng, Siyu
Zhao, He
Ortiz, Brenden R.
Salinas, Andrea Capa
Wilson, Stephen D.
Wang, Ziqiang
Zeljkovic, Ilija
Superconductivity
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Materials Science
Strongly Correlated Electrons
Exotic quantum solids can host electronic states that spontaneously break rotational symmetry of the electronic structure, such as electronic nematic phases and unidirectional charge density waves (CDWs). When electrons couple to the lattice, uniaxial strain can be used to anchor and control this electronic directionality. Here we reveal an unusual impact of strain on unidirectional "smectic" CDW orders in kagome superconductors AV3Sb5 using spectroscopic-imaging scanning tunneling microscopy. We discover local decoupling between the smectic electronic director axis and the direction of anisotropic strain. While the two are generally aligned along the same direction in regions of small CDW gap, the two become misaligned in regions where CDW gap is the largest. This in turn suggests nanoscale variations in smectic susceptibility, which we attribute to a combination of local strain and electron correlation strength. Overall, we observe an unusually high decoupling rate between the smectic electronic director of the 3-state Potts order and anisotropic strain, revealing weak smecto-elastic coupling in the CDW phase of kagome superconductors. This is phenomenologically different from the extensively studied nemato-elastic coupling in the Ising nematic phase of Fe-based superconductors, providing a contrasting picture of how strain can control electronic unidirectionality in different families of quantum materials.
title Nanoscale strain manipulation of smectic susceptibility in kagome superconductors
topic Superconductivity
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Materials Science
Strongly Correlated Electrons
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.06407