Vestigial Order from an Excitonic Mother State in Kagome Superconductors $A$V$_3$Sb$_5$

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Ingham, Julian, Thomale, Ronny, Scammell, Harley D.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Ingham, Julian
Thomale, Ronny
Scammell, Harley D.
author_facet Ingham, Julian
Thomale, Ronny
Scammell, Harley D.
contents Alongside high-temperature charge order and superconductivity, kagome metals exhibit signatures of time-reversal symmetry breaking and nematicity which appear to depend strongly on external perturbations such as strain and magnetic fields, posing a fundamental challenge for conceptual reconciliation. We develop a theory of vestigial order descending from an excitonic mother state in $A$V$_3$Sb$_5$ ($A$=K,Rb,Cs), which develops around $T_* \approx 40$ K. The application of external fields stabilises a subset of the phase-melted order parameter manifold, referred to as a vestigial state, producing a symmetry-breaking response which depends on the applied probe. Our theory reproduces the observations of piezomagnetism, electric magnetic chiral anisotropy, absence of Kerr rotation, unusual elastoresistance response, and superconducting diode effect. Our proposed excitonic mother state accounts for probe-dependent symmetry breaking patterns without fine-tuning, and predicts additional signatures accessible through optical spectroscopy.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_02929
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Vestigial Order from an Excitonic Mother State in Kagome Superconductors $A$V$_3$Sb$_5$
Ingham, Julian
Thomale, Ronny
Scammell, Harley D.
Strongly Correlated Electrons
Materials Science
Superconductivity
Quantum Physics
Alongside high-temperature charge order and superconductivity, kagome metals exhibit signatures of time-reversal symmetry breaking and nematicity which appear to depend strongly on external perturbations such as strain and magnetic fields, posing a fundamental challenge for conceptual reconciliation. We develop a theory of vestigial order descending from an excitonic mother state in $A$V$_3$Sb$_5$ ($A$=K,Rb,Cs), which develops around $T_* \approx 40$ K. The application of external fields stabilises a subset of the phase-melted order parameter manifold, referred to as a vestigial state, producing a symmetry-breaking response which depends on the applied probe. Our theory reproduces the observations of piezomagnetism, electric magnetic chiral anisotropy, absence of Kerr rotation, unusual elastoresistance response, and superconducting diode effect. Our proposed excitonic mother state accounts for probe-dependent symmetry breaking patterns without fine-tuning, and predicts additional signatures accessible through optical spectroscopy.
title Vestigial Order from an Excitonic Mother State in Kagome Superconductors $A$V$_3$Sb$_5$
topic Strongly Correlated Electrons
Materials Science
Superconductivity
Quantum Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.02929