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Kagome metals have emerged as a frontier in condensed matter physics due to their potential to host exotic quantum states. Among these, CsV3Sb5has attracted significant attention for the unusual coexistence of charge density wave (CDW) order and unconventional superconductivity, presenting an ideal system for exploring the emergent phenomena from the interplay of phonons, electronic fluctuations, and topological effects. The nature of CDW formation in CsV3Sb5is unconventional and has sparked considerable debate. In this study, we examine the origin of the CDW state via ab initio finite-temperature simulations of the lattice dynamics. Through a comparative study of CsV3Sb5and 2H-NbSe2, we demonstrate that the experimental absence of phonon softening—a hallmark of conventional CDW transition—in CsV3Sb5along with the presence of a weakly first-order transition, can be attributed to quantum zero-point atomic motion. This zero-point motion smears the free energy landscape of CDW, effectively stabilizing the pristine structure even below the CDW transition temperature. We argue that this surprising behavior could cause coexistence of pristine and CDW structures across the transition and lead to a weak first-order transition. Our predicted lattice dynamical behavior is supported by coherent phonon spectroscopy in single-crystalline CsV3Sb5. Our results provide crucial insights into the formation mechanism of CDW materials that exhibit little to no phonon softening, including cuprates, and highlight the surprising role of quantum effects in emergent properties of relatively heavy-element materials like CsV3Sb5.
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This content will become publicly available on December 1, 2025
Low-energy electronic structure in the unconventional charge-ordered state of ScV6Sn6
Abstract Kagome vanadatesAV3Sb5display unusual low-temperature electronic properties including charge density waves (CDW), whose microscopic origin remains unsettled. Recently, CDW order has been discovered in a new material ScV6Sn6, providing an opportunity to explore whether the onset of CDW leads to unusual electronic properties. Here, we study this question using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The ARPES measurements show minimal changes to the electronic structure after the onset of CDW. However, STM quasiparticle interference (QPI) measurements show strong dispersing features related to the CDW ordering vectors. A plausible explanation is the presence of a strong momentum-dependent scattering potential peaked at the CDW wavevector, associated with the existence of competing CDW instabilities. Our STM results further indicate that the bands most affected by the CDW are near vHS, analogous to the case ofAV3Sb5despite very different CDW wavevectors.
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- PAR ID:
- 10518662
- Publisher / Repository:
- Nature Comm
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Nature Communications
- Volume:
- 15
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2041-1723
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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