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Ever since the discovery of the charge density wave (CDW) transition in the kagome metal${\mathrm{CsV}}_3{\mathrm{Sb}}_5$, 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 ($T_{\mathrm{CDW}}$), an additional electronic nematic instability well below$T_{\mathrm{CDW}}$has been reported based on the diverging elastoresistivity coefficient in the anisotropic channel ($m_{E_{2g}}$). Verifying the existence of a nematic transition below$T_{\mathrm{CDW}}$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${\mathrm{CsV}}_3{\mathrm{Sb}}_5$using three different techniques probing both isotropic and anisotropic symmetry channels. Contrary to previous reports, we find the anisotropic elastoresistivity coefficient$m_{E_{2g}}$is temperature independent, except for a step jump at$T_{\mathrm{CDW}}$. 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$m_{A_{1g}}$increases below$T_{\mathrm{CDW}}$, reaching a peak value of 90 at$T^{*}=20\mathrm{K}$. Our results strongly indicate that the phase transition at$T^{*}$is not nematic in nature and the previously reported diverging elastoresistivity is due to the contamination from the$A_{1g}$channel.

Uniaxial strain has been widely used as a powerful tool for investigating and controlling the properties of quantum materials. However, existing strain techniques have so far mostly been limited to use with bulk crystals. Although recent progress has been made in extending the application of strain to two-dimensional van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures, these techniques have been limited to optical characterization and extremely simple electrical device geometries. Here, we report a piezoelectric-based in situ uniaxial strain technique enabling simultaneous electrical transport and optical spectroscopy characterization of dual-gated vdW heterostructure devices. Critically, our technique remains compatible with vdW heterostructure devices of arbitrary complexity fabricated on conventional silicon/silicon dioxide wafer substrates. We demonstrate a large and continuously tunable strain of up to −0.15% at millikelvin temperatures, with larger strain values also likely achievable. We quantify the strain transmission from the silicon wafer to the vdW heterostructure, and further demonstrate the ability of strain to modify the electronic properties of twisted bilayer graphene. Our technique provides a highly versatile new method for exploring the effect of uniaxial strain on both the electrical and optical properties of vdW heterostructures and can be easily extended to include additional characterization techniques.