Visualizing the internal structure of the charge-density-wave state in CeSbTe
Abstract The collective reorganization of electrons into a charge density wave has long served as a textbook example of an ordered phase in condensed matter physics. Two-dimensional square lattices with p electrons are well-suited to the realization of charge density waves, due to the anisotropy of...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58417-x |
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| _version_ | 1849392097047609344 |
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| author | Xinglu Que Qingyu He Lihui Zhou Shiming Lei Leslie Schoop Dennis Huang Hidenori Takagi |
| author_facet | Xinglu Que Qingyu He Lihui Zhou Shiming Lei Leslie Schoop Dennis Huang Hidenori Takagi |
| author_sort | Xinglu Que |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The collective reorganization of electrons into a charge density wave has long served as a textbook example of an ordered phase in condensed matter physics. Two-dimensional square lattices with p electrons are well-suited to the realization of charge density waves, due to the anisotropy of the p orbitals and the resulting one dimensionality of the electronic structure. In spite of a long history of study of charge density waves in square-lattice systems, few reports have recognized the significance of a hidden orbital degree of freedom. The degeneracy of p x and p y electrons may give rise to orbital patterns in real space that endow the charge density wave with additional broken symmetries or unusual order parameters. Here, we use scanning tunneling microscopy to visualize the internal structure of the charge-density-wave state of CeSbTe, which contains Sb square lattices with 5p electrons. We image atomic-sized, anisotropic lobes of charge density with periodically modulating anisotropy, which we interpret in terms of a superposition of p x and p y bond density waves. Our results support the fact that delocalized p orbitals can reorganize into emergent electronic states of matter. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-87b1fa6eb89b4034a5a474f7c7ee5916 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-87b1fa6eb89b4034a5a474f7c7ee59162025-08-20T03:40:50ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-03-0116111110.1038/s41467-025-58417-xVisualizing the internal structure of the charge-density-wave state in CeSbTeXinglu Que0Qingyu He1Lihui Zhou2Shiming Lei3Leslie Schoop4Dennis Huang5Hidenori Takagi6Max Planck Institute for Solid State ResearchMax Planck Institute for Solid State ResearchMax Planck Institute for Solid State ResearchDepartment of Chemistry, Princeton UniversityDepartment of Chemistry, Princeton UniversityMax Planck Institute for Solid State ResearchMax Planck Institute for Solid State ResearchAbstract The collective reorganization of electrons into a charge density wave has long served as a textbook example of an ordered phase in condensed matter physics. Two-dimensional square lattices with p electrons are well-suited to the realization of charge density waves, due to the anisotropy of the p orbitals and the resulting one dimensionality of the electronic structure. In spite of a long history of study of charge density waves in square-lattice systems, few reports have recognized the significance of a hidden orbital degree of freedom. The degeneracy of p x and p y electrons may give rise to orbital patterns in real space that endow the charge density wave with additional broken symmetries or unusual order parameters. Here, we use scanning tunneling microscopy to visualize the internal structure of the charge-density-wave state of CeSbTe, which contains Sb square lattices with 5p electrons. We image atomic-sized, anisotropic lobes of charge density with periodically modulating anisotropy, which we interpret in terms of a superposition of p x and p y bond density waves. Our results support the fact that delocalized p orbitals can reorganize into emergent electronic states of matter.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58417-x |
| spellingShingle | Xinglu Que Qingyu He Lihui Zhou Shiming Lei Leslie Schoop Dennis Huang Hidenori Takagi Visualizing the internal structure of the charge-density-wave state in CeSbTe Nature Communications |
| title | Visualizing the internal structure of the charge-density-wave state in CeSbTe |
| title_full | Visualizing the internal structure of the charge-density-wave state in CeSbTe |
| title_fullStr | Visualizing the internal structure of the charge-density-wave state in CeSbTe |
| title_full_unstemmed | Visualizing the internal structure of the charge-density-wave state in CeSbTe |
| title_short | Visualizing the internal structure of the charge-density-wave state in CeSbTe |
| title_sort | visualizing the internal structure of the charge density wave state in cesbte |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58417-x |
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