Chirality locking charge density waves in a chiral crystal

Geng Li, Haitao Yang, Peijie Jiang, Cong Wang, Qiuzhen Cheng, Shangjie Tian, Guangyuan Han, Chengmin Shen, Xiao Lin, Hechang Lei (), Wei Ji (), Ziqiang Wang () and Hong-Jun Gao ()
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Geng Li: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Haitao Yang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Peijie Jiang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Cong Wang: Renmin University of China
Qiuzhen Cheng: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Shangjie Tian: Renmin University of China
Guangyuan Han: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Chengmin Shen: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xiao Lin: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Hechang Lei: Renmin University of China
Wei Ji: Renmin University of China
Ziqiang Wang: Boston College
Hong-Jun Gao: Chinese Academy of Sciences

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract In Weyl semimetals, charge density wave (CDW) order can spontaneously break the chiral symmetry, gap out the Weyl nodes, and drive the material into the axion insulating phase. Investigations have however been limited since CDWs are rarely seen in Weyl semimetals. Here, using scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/S), we report the discovery of a novel unidirectional CDW order on the (001) surface of chiral crystal CoSi – a unique Weyl semimetal with unconventional chiral fermions. The CDW is incommensurate with both lattice momentum and crystalline symmetry directions, and exhibits an intra unit cell π phase shift in the layer stacking direction. The tunneling spectrum shows a particle-hole asymmetric V-shaped energy gap around the Fermi level that modulates spatially with the CDW wave vector. Combined with first-principle calculations, we identify that the CDW is locked to the crystal chirality and is related by a mirror reflection between the two enantiomers of the chiral crystal. Our findings reveal a novel correlated topological quantum state in chiral CoSi crystals and raise the potential for exploring the unprecedented physical behaviors of unconventional chiral fermions.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30612-0

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