Discovery of an intermediate nematic state in a bilayer kagome metal ScV6Sn6
Abstract Nematicity, spontaneous breaking of rotational symmetry, is a ubiquitous phenomenon in correlated quantum matter. Here we show a phase transition in high-quality ScV6Sn6 bilayer kagome metal at a temperature $${T}^{*}$$ T * , occurring seven Kelvins below the charge density wave transition...
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| Format: | Article |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-63294-5 |
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| author | Camron Farhang William R. Meier Weihang Lu Jiangxu Li Yudong Wu Shirin Mozaffari Richa P. Madhogaria Yang Zhang David Mandrus Jing Xia |
| author_facet | Camron Farhang William R. Meier Weihang Lu Jiangxu Li Yudong Wu Shirin Mozaffari Richa P. Madhogaria Yang Zhang David Mandrus Jing Xia |
| author_sort | Camron Farhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Nematicity, spontaneous breaking of rotational symmetry, is a ubiquitous phenomenon in correlated quantum matter. Here we show a phase transition in high-quality ScV6Sn6 bilayer kagome metal at a temperature $${T}^{*}$$ T * , occurring seven Kelvins below the charge density wave transition at $${T}_{{CDW}}$$ T C D W , as indicated by thermodynamic, transport, and optical measurements. This emerging intermediate phase does not exhibit spontaneous time-reversal-symmetry breaking, as evidenced by zero-field Sagnac interferometry. However, it displays a strong, spontaneous in-plane anisotropy between $${T}^{*}$$ T * and $${T}_{{CDW}}$$ T C D W , revealed by transport and optical polarization rotation measurements. A pronounced depolarization effect detected by the Sagnac interferometer further confirms its nematic nature. Unlike AV3Sb5, this phase, alongside the recently discovered intra-unit cell nematic order at lower temperatures, presents a diverse landscape of nematicities at multiple length and temperature scales. Our findings highlight ScV6Sn6 as a prime candidate for realizing symmetry-breaking phases driven by charge density competition, kagome physics, and Van Hove singularities. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ebe8e16ca31040b3b4042393d1b7776b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-ebe8e16ca31040b3b4042393d1b7776b2025-08-24T11:38:06ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-08-0116111010.1038/s41467-025-63294-5Discovery of an intermediate nematic state in a bilayer kagome metal ScV6Sn6Camron Farhang0William R. Meier1Weihang Lu2Jiangxu Li3Yudong Wu4Shirin Mozaffari5Richa P. Madhogaria6Yang Zhang7David Mandrus8Jing Xia9Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, IrvineDepartment of Materials Sciences and Engineering, University of Tennessee-KnoxvilleDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, IrvineDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of Tennessee-KnoxvilleDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, IrvineDepartment of Materials Sciences and Engineering, University of Tennessee-KnoxvilleDepartment of Materials Sciences and Engineering, University of Tennessee-KnoxvilleDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of Tennessee-KnoxvilleDepartment of Materials Sciences and Engineering, University of Tennessee-KnoxvilleDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, IrvineAbstract Nematicity, spontaneous breaking of rotational symmetry, is a ubiquitous phenomenon in correlated quantum matter. Here we show a phase transition in high-quality ScV6Sn6 bilayer kagome metal at a temperature $${T}^{*}$$ T * , occurring seven Kelvins below the charge density wave transition at $${T}_{{CDW}}$$ T C D W , as indicated by thermodynamic, transport, and optical measurements. This emerging intermediate phase does not exhibit spontaneous time-reversal-symmetry breaking, as evidenced by zero-field Sagnac interferometry. However, it displays a strong, spontaneous in-plane anisotropy between $${T}^{*}$$ T * and $${T}_{{CDW}}$$ T C D W , revealed by transport and optical polarization rotation measurements. A pronounced depolarization effect detected by the Sagnac interferometer further confirms its nematic nature. Unlike AV3Sb5, this phase, alongside the recently discovered intra-unit cell nematic order at lower temperatures, presents a diverse landscape of nematicities at multiple length and temperature scales. Our findings highlight ScV6Sn6 as a prime candidate for realizing symmetry-breaking phases driven by charge density competition, kagome physics, and Van Hove singularities.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-63294-5 |
| spellingShingle | Camron Farhang William R. Meier Weihang Lu Jiangxu Li Yudong Wu Shirin Mozaffari Richa P. Madhogaria Yang Zhang David Mandrus Jing Xia Discovery of an intermediate nematic state in a bilayer kagome metal ScV6Sn6 Nature Communications |
| title | Discovery of an intermediate nematic state in a bilayer kagome metal ScV6Sn6 |
| title_full | Discovery of an intermediate nematic state in a bilayer kagome metal ScV6Sn6 |
| title_fullStr | Discovery of an intermediate nematic state in a bilayer kagome metal ScV6Sn6 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Discovery of an intermediate nematic state in a bilayer kagome metal ScV6Sn6 |
| title_short | Discovery of an intermediate nematic state in a bilayer kagome metal ScV6Sn6 |
| title_sort | discovery of an intermediate nematic state in a bilayer kagome metal scv6sn6 |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-63294-5 |
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