中国物理B ›› 2025, Vol. 34 ›› Issue (4): 47303-047303.doi: 10.1088/1674-1056/adb389

所属专题: SPECIAL TOPIC — Recent progress on kagome metals and superconductors

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Scanning tunneling microscopy study on symmetry breaking of charge density wave in FeGe

Jiakang Zhang(张嘉康)1,†, Ziyuan Chen(陈子元)1,†, Xueliang Wu(吴学良)2, Mingzhe Li(李明哲)1, Yuanji Li(李元骥)1, Ruotong Yin(尹若彤)1, Jiashuo Gong(巩佳硕)1, Shiyuan Wang(王适源)1, Aifeng Wang(王爱峰)2, Dong-Lai Feng(封东来)1,3,4, and Ya-Jun Yan(闫亚军)1,4,‡   

  1. 1 School of Emerging Technology and Department of Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China;
    2 Low temperature Physics Laboratory, College of Physics and Center of Quantum Materials and Devices, Chongqing University, Chongqing 401331, China;
    3 National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory and School of Nuclear Science and Technology, New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China;
    4 Hefei National Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
  • 收稿日期:2024-10-14 修回日期:2025-01-16 接受日期:2025-02-07 出版日期:2025-04-15 发布日期:2025-04-15
  • 通讯作者: Ya-Jun Yan E-mail:yanyj87@ustc.edu.cn
  • 基金资助:
    Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 12374140, 12494593, 11790312, 12004056, 11774060, and 92065201), the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant No. 2023YFA1406304), the Innovation Program for Quantum Science and Technology (Grant No. 2021ZD0302803), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China (Grant Nos. 2022CDJXY-002 and WK9990000103), and the New Cornerstone Science Foundation.

Scanning tunneling microscopy study on symmetry breaking of charge density wave in FeGe

Jiakang Zhang(张嘉康)1,†, Ziyuan Chen(陈子元)1,†, Xueliang Wu(吴学良)2, Mingzhe Li(李明哲)1, Yuanji Li(李元骥)1, Ruotong Yin(尹若彤)1, Jiashuo Gong(巩佳硕)1, Shiyuan Wang(王适源)1, Aifeng Wang(王爱峰)2, Dong-Lai Feng(封东来)1,3,4, and Ya-Jun Yan(闫亚军)1,4,‡   

  1. 1 School of Emerging Technology and Department of Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China;
    2 Low temperature Physics Laboratory, College of Physics and Center of Quantum Materials and Devices, Chongqing University, Chongqing 401331, China;
    3 National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory and School of Nuclear Science and Technology, New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China;
    4 Hefei National Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
  • Received:2024-10-14 Revised:2025-01-16 Accepted:2025-02-07 Online:2025-04-15 Published:2025-04-15
  • Contact: Ya-Jun Yan E-mail:yanyj87@ustc.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 12374140, 12494593, 11790312, 12004056, 11774060, and 92065201), the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant No. 2023YFA1406304), the Innovation Program for Quantum Science and Technology (Grant No. 2021ZD0302803), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China (Grant Nos. 2022CDJXY-002 and WK9990000103), and the New Cornerstone Science Foundation.

摘要: The complex symmetry breaking states in $A$V$_{3}$Sb$_{5}$ family have attracted extreme research attention, but controversy still exists, especially in the question of time reversal symmetry breaking of the charge density wave (CDW). Most recently, a chiral CDW has been suggested in kagome magnet FeGe, but the related study is very rare. Here, we use a scanning tunneling microscope to study the symmetry breaking behavior of both the short- and long-range CDWs in FeGe. Different from previous studies, our study reveals an isotropic long-range CDW without obvious symmetry breaking, while local rotational symmetry breaking appears in the short-range CDW, which may be related to the existence of strong structural disorders. Moreover, the charge distribution of the short-range CDW is inert to the applied external magnetic fields and the detailed spin arrangements of FeGe, inconsistent with the expectation of a chiral CDW associated with chiral flux. Our results rule out the existence of spontaneous chiral and rotational symmetry breaking in the CDW state of FeGe, putting strong constraints on the further understanding of CDW mechanism.

关键词: symmetry breaking, kagome magnet, charge density wave

Abstract: The complex symmetry breaking states in $A$V$_{3}$Sb$_{5}$ family have attracted extreme research attention, but controversy still exists, especially in the question of time reversal symmetry breaking of the charge density wave (CDW). Most recently, a chiral CDW has been suggested in kagome magnet FeGe, but the related study is very rare. Here, we use a scanning tunneling microscope to study the symmetry breaking behavior of both the short- and long-range CDWs in FeGe. Different from previous studies, our study reveals an isotropic long-range CDW without obvious symmetry breaking, while local rotational symmetry breaking appears in the short-range CDW, which may be related to the existence of strong structural disorders. Moreover, the charge distribution of the short-range CDW is inert to the applied external magnetic fields and the detailed spin arrangements of FeGe, inconsistent with the expectation of a chiral CDW associated with chiral flux. Our results rule out the existence of spontaneous chiral and rotational symmetry breaking in the CDW state of FeGe, putting strong constraints on the further understanding of CDW mechanism.

Key words: symmetry breaking, kagome magnet, charge density wave

中图分类号:  (Broken symmetry phases)

  • 73.22.Gk
87.64.Dz (Scanning tunneling and atomic force microscopy) 71.45.Lr (Charge-density-wave systems) 75.50.Ee (Antiferromagnetics)