Discovery of an Intermediate Nematic State in a Bilayer Kagome Metal ScV6Sn6

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Hauptverfasser: Farhang, Camron, Meier, William R., Lu, Weihang, Li, Jiangxu, Wu, Yudong, Mozaffari, Shirin, Madhogaria, Richa P., Zhang, Yang, Mandrus, David, Xia, Jing
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2025
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author Farhang, Camron
Meier, William R.
Lu, Weihang
Li, Jiangxu
Wu, Yudong
Mozaffari, Shirin
Madhogaria, Richa P.
Zhang, Yang
Mandrus, David
Xia, Jing
author_facet Farhang, Camron
Meier, William R.
Lu, Weihang
Li, Jiangxu
Wu, Yudong
Mozaffari, Shirin
Madhogaria, Richa P.
Zhang, Yang
Mandrus, David
Xia, Jing
contents Nematicity, where rotational symmetry of the crystal lattice is spontaneously broken, is a ubiquitous phenomenon in correlated quantum matter, often intertwining with other orders to produce a richer spectrum of phases. Here we report a new phase transition in high-quality ScV6Sn6 bilayer kagome metal at a temperature T^*, occurring seven Kelvins below the charge density wave (CDW) transition at T_CDW, as indicated by thermodynamic, transport, and optical measurements. This emerging intermediate phase does not exhibit spontaneous time-reversal-symmetry breaking, as evidenced by zero-field Sagnac interferometer experiments. However, it displays a strong, spontaneous (strain- and field-free) anisotropy in the kagome plane between T^* and T_CDW, as revealed by transport and optical polarization rotation measurements. Additionally, a pronounced depolarization effect detected by the Sagnac interferometer further confirms its nematic nature. This intermediate nematic phase, alongside the recently discovered intra-unit cell nematic order at much lower temperatures, presents a diverse landscape of nematicities at multiple length and temperature scales, distinguishing it from those observed in kagome metals AV3Sb5. Our findings highlight ScV6Sn6 and the broader RM6X6 intermetallic family as fertile platforms for realizing symmetry-breaking phases driven by a unique interplay of competing CDW instabilities, kagome physics, and Van Hove singularities.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2502_14568
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Discovery of an Intermediate Nematic State in a Bilayer Kagome Metal ScV6Sn6
Farhang, Camron
Meier, William R.
Lu, Weihang
Li, Jiangxu
Wu, Yudong
Mozaffari, Shirin
Madhogaria, Richa P.
Zhang, Yang
Mandrus, David
Xia, Jing
Strongly Correlated Electrons
Materials Science
Nematicity, where rotational symmetry of the crystal lattice is spontaneously broken, is a ubiquitous phenomenon in correlated quantum matter, often intertwining with other orders to produce a richer spectrum of phases. Here we report a new phase transition in high-quality ScV6Sn6 bilayer kagome metal at a temperature T^*, occurring seven Kelvins below the charge density wave (CDW) transition at T_CDW, as indicated by thermodynamic, transport, and optical measurements. This emerging intermediate phase does not exhibit spontaneous time-reversal-symmetry breaking, as evidenced by zero-field Sagnac interferometer experiments. However, it displays a strong, spontaneous (strain- and field-free) anisotropy in the kagome plane between T^* and T_CDW, as revealed by transport and optical polarization rotation measurements. Additionally, a pronounced depolarization effect detected by the Sagnac interferometer further confirms its nematic nature. This intermediate nematic phase, alongside the recently discovered intra-unit cell nematic order at much lower temperatures, presents a diverse landscape of nematicities at multiple length and temperature scales, distinguishing it from those observed in kagome metals AV3Sb5. Our findings highlight ScV6Sn6 and the broader RM6X6 intermetallic family as fertile platforms for realizing symmetry-breaking phases driven by a unique interplay of competing CDW instabilities, kagome physics, and Van Hove singularities.
title Discovery of an Intermediate Nematic State in a Bilayer Kagome Metal ScV6Sn6
topic Strongly Correlated Electrons
Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.14568