Ever since the discovery of the charge density wave (CDW) transition in the kagome metal , the nature of its symmetry breaking has been under intense debate. While evidence suggests that the rotational symmetry is already broken at the CDW transition temperature ( ), an additional electronic nematic instability well below has been reported based on the diverging elastoresistivity coefficient in the anisotropic channel ( ). Verifying the existence of a nematic transition below is not only critical for establishing the correct description of the CDW order parameter, but also important for understanding low-temperature superconductivity. Here, we report elastoresistivity measurements of using three different techniques probing both isotropic and anisotropic symmetry channels. Contrary to previous reports, we find the anisotropic elastoresistivity coefficient is temperature independent, except for a step jump at . The absence of nematic fluctuations is further substantiated by measurements of the elastocaloric effect, which show no enhancement associated with nematic susceptibility. On the other hand, the symmetric elastoresistivity coefficient increases below , reaching a peak value of 90 at . Our results strongly indicate that the phase transition at is not nematic in nature and the previously reported diverging elastoresistivity is due to the contamination from the channel. Published by the American Physical Society2024 
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                    This content will become publicly available on March 1, 2026
                            
                            First-principles electron-phonon interactions and polarons in the parent cuprate La2CuO4
                        
                    
    
            Understanding electronic interactions in high-temperature superconductors is an outstanding challenge. In the widely studied cuprate materials, experimental evidence points to strong electron-phonon ( -ph) coupling and broad photoemission spectra. Yet, the microscopic origin of this behavior is not fully understood. Here, we study -ph interactions and polarons in a prototypical parent (undoped) cuprate, (LCO), by means of first-principles calculations. Leveraging parameter-free Hubbard-corrected density functional theory, we obtain a ground state with the band gap and Cu magnetic moment in nearly exact agreement with experiments. This enables a quantitative characterization of -ph interactions. Our calculations reveal two classes of longitudinal optical (LO) phonons with strong -ph coupling to hole states. These modes consist of bond stretching and bond bending in the Cu-O plane as well as vibrations of apical O atoms. The hole spectral functions, obtained with a cumulant method that can capture strong -ph coupling, exhibit broad quasiparticle peaks with a small spectral weight ( ) and pronounced LO-phonon sidebands characteristic of polaron effects. Our calculations predict features observed in photoemission spectra, including a 40-meV peak in the -ph coupling distribution function not explained by existing models. These results show that the universal strong -ph coupling found experimentally in doped lanthanum cuprates is also present in the parent compound, and elucidate its microscopic origin. 
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                            - Award ID(s):
- 2209262
- PAR ID:
- 10553471
- Publisher / Repository:
- American Physical Society
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Physical Review Research
- Volume:
- 7
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2643-1564
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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