Soft Mode Origin of Charge Ordering in Superconducting Kagome CsV$_3$Sb$_5$

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: McGuinness, Philippa Helen, Henssler, Fabian, Alkorta, Manex, von Westarp, Mark Joachim Graf, Korshunov, Artem, Bosak, Alexei, Ishikawa, Daisuke, Baron, Alfred Q. R., Merz, Michael, Haghighirad, Amir-Abbas, Vergniory, Maia G., Souliou, Sofia-Michaela, Heid, Rolf, Errea, Ion, Tacon, Matthieu Le
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866908606301995008
author McGuinness, Philippa Helen
Henssler, Fabian
Alkorta, Manex
von Westarp, Mark Joachim Graf
Korshunov, Artem
Bosak, Alexei
Ishikawa, Daisuke
Baron, Alfred Q. R.
Merz, Michael
Haghighirad, Amir-Abbas
Vergniory, Maia G.
Souliou, Sofia-Michaela
Heid, Rolf
Errea, Ion
Tacon, Matthieu Le
author_facet McGuinness, Philippa Helen
Henssler, Fabian
Alkorta, Manex
von Westarp, Mark Joachim Graf
Korshunov, Artem
Bosak, Alexei
Ishikawa, Daisuke
Baron, Alfred Q. R.
Merz, Michael
Haghighirad, Amir-Abbas
Vergniory, Maia G.
Souliou, Sofia-Michaela
Heid, Rolf
Errea, Ion
Tacon, Matthieu Le
contents Charge-density-wave (CDW) order and superconductivity coexist in the kagome metals AV$_3$Sb$_5$ (A=K, Cs, Rb), raising fundamental questions about the mechanisms driving their intertwined phases. Here we combine high-resolution inelastic X-ray scattering with first-principles calculations to uncover the origin of CDW formation in CsV$_3$Sb$_5$. Guided by structure factor analysis, we identify a soft phonon mode along the reciprocal M-L direction, with the strongest effect at the L point, where the elastic scattering intensity also grows most rapidly upon cooling. First-principles calculations incorporating lattice anharmonicity and electron-phonon coupling reproduce these observations and establish a soft-mode instability at the L point as the driving mechanism of CDW formation. Despite the weakly first-order character of the transition, our results unambiguously demonstrate that the CDW in CsV$_3$Sb$_5$ originates from a softened phonon, clarifying its microscopic origin and highlighting the central role of lattice dynamics in kagome metals.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_19790
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Soft Mode Origin of Charge Ordering in Superconducting Kagome CsV$_3$Sb$_5$
McGuinness, Philippa Helen
Henssler, Fabian
Alkorta, Manex
von Westarp, Mark Joachim Graf
Korshunov, Artem
Bosak, Alexei
Ishikawa, Daisuke
Baron, Alfred Q. R.
Merz, Michael
Haghighirad, Amir-Abbas
Vergniory, Maia G.
Souliou, Sofia-Michaela
Heid, Rolf
Errea, Ion
Tacon, Matthieu Le
Superconductivity
Strongly Correlated Electrons
Charge-density-wave (CDW) order and superconductivity coexist in the kagome metals AV$_3$Sb$_5$ (A=K, Cs, Rb), raising fundamental questions about the mechanisms driving their intertwined phases. Here we combine high-resolution inelastic X-ray scattering with first-principles calculations to uncover the origin of CDW formation in CsV$_3$Sb$_5$. Guided by structure factor analysis, we identify a soft phonon mode along the reciprocal M-L direction, with the strongest effect at the L point, where the elastic scattering intensity also grows most rapidly upon cooling. First-principles calculations incorporating lattice anharmonicity and electron-phonon coupling reproduce these observations and establish a soft-mode instability at the L point as the driving mechanism of CDW formation. Despite the weakly first-order character of the transition, our results unambiguously demonstrate that the CDW in CsV$_3$Sb$_5$ originates from a softened phonon, clarifying its microscopic origin and highlighting the central role of lattice dynamics in kagome metals.
title Soft Mode Origin of Charge Ordering in Superconducting Kagome CsV$_3$Sb$_5$
topic Superconductivity
Strongly Correlated Electrons
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.19790