Charge-density-wave-driven electronic nematicity in a kagome superconductor

Linpeng Nie, Kuanglv Sun, Wanru Ma, Dianwu Song, Lixuan Zheng, Zuowei Liang, Ping Wu, Fanghang Yu, Jian Li, Min Shan, Dan Zhao, Shunjiao Li, Baolei Kang, Zhimian Wu, Yanbing Zhou, Kai Liu, Ziji Xiang, Jianjun Ying, Zhenyu Wang (), Tao Wu () and Xianhui Chen ()
Additional contact information
Linpeng Nie: University of Science and Technology of China
Kuanglv Sun: University of Science and Technology of China
Wanru Ma: University of Science and Technology of China
Dianwu Song: University of Science and Technology of China
Lixuan Zheng: University of Science and Technology of China
Zuowei Liang: University of Science and Technology of China
Ping Wu: University of Science and Technology of China
Fanghang Yu: University of Science and Technology of China
Jian Li: University of Science and Technology of China
Min Shan: University of Science and Technology of China
Dan Zhao: University of Science and Technology of China
Shunjiao Li: University of Science and Technology of China
Baolei Kang: University of Science and Technology of China
Zhimian Wu: University of Science and Technology of China
Yanbing Zhou: University of Science and Technology of China
Kai Liu: University of Science and Technology of China
Ziji Xiang: University of Science and Technology of China
Jianjun Ying: University of Science and Technology of China
Zhenyu Wang: University of Science and Technology of China
Tao Wu: University of Science and Technology of China
Xianhui Chen: University of Science and Technology of China

Nature, 2022, vol. 604, issue 7904, 59-64

Abstract: Abstract Electronic nematicity, in which rotational symmetry is spontaneously broken by electronic degrees of freedom, has been demonstrated as a ubiquitous phenomenon in correlated quantum fluids including high-temperature superconductors and quantum Hall systems1,2. Notably, the electronic nematicity in high-temperature superconductors exhibits an intriguing entanglement with superconductivity, generating complicated superconducting pairing and intertwined electronic orders. Recently, an unusual competition between superconductivity and a charge-density-wave (CDW) order has been found in the AV3Sb5 (A = K, Rb, Cs) family with two-dimensional vanadium kagome nets3–8. Whether these phenomena involve electronic nematicity is still unknown. Here we report evidence for the existence of electronic nematicity in CsV3Sb5, using a combination of elastoresistance measurements, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and scanning tunnelling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/S). The temperature-dependent elastoresistance coefficient (m11 minus m12) and NMR spectra demonstrate that, besides a C2 structural distortion of the 2a0 × 2a0 supercell owing to out-of-plane modulation, considerable nematic fluctuations emerge immediately below the CDW transition (approximately 94 kelvin) and finally a nematic transition occurs below about 35 kelvin. The STM experiment directly visualizes the C2-structure-pinned long-range nematic order below the nematic transition temperature, suggesting a novel nematicity described by a three-state Potts model. Our findings indicate an intrinsic electronic nematicity in the normal state of CsV3Sb5, which sets a new paradigm for revealing the role of electronic nematicity on pairing mechanism in unconventional superconductors.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04493-8

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